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Collection  de 
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Canadian  Institute  for  IHistorical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  canadien  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
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copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  ddtails 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-dtre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  m6thode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiquSs  ci-dessous. 

r~7p  Coloured  pages/ 
II    Pages  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagde 


□    Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagdes 


D 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurde  et/ou  pelliculde 


□    Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pelliculdes 


I      I    Cover  title  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


□    Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  ddcolordes,  tachet^es  ou  piqudes 


I      I    Coloured  maps/ 


D 


Cartes  g^ographiques  en  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


□Pages  detached/ 
Pages  ddtachdes 


^ 


Showthrough/ 
Transparence 


I      I    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


D 


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Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
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appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajoutdes 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6t6  filmdes. 


I      I    Quality  of  print  vanes/ 


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Includes  supplementary  material/ 
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Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
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obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6t6  film^es  d  nouveau  de  faqon  d 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


D 


Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppldmentaires; 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmd  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu6  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

SOX 

y 

12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


■aire 
s  details 
ques  du 
It  modifier 
liger  une 
e  filmage 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

National  Library  of  Canada 


The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


L'exemplaire  film6  fut  reproduit  grdce  d  la 
g6n6ro8it6  de: 

Bibliothdque  nationale  du  Canada 


Les  images  suivantes  ont  6t^  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettetd  de  l'exemplaire  film6,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


i/ 
|u6es 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginninr^  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  in.pres- 
sion,  and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimde  sont  film^s  en  commengant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  film^s  en  commengant  par  la 
premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  ^h^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED'),  or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END  "), 
whichever  applies. 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  -^^^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 


aire 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
fiimds  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffdrents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cliche,  il  est  filmd  d  partir 
de  Tangle  supdrieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  ndcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mdthode. 


by  errata 
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ent 

une  pelure, 

Fapon  d 


1 

2 

3 

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^^lI;^^&«Ji^fiPON(DENOHL   AND  A  DISI-QRY  O!-' TJiK 
aj^'JEKT  MAIHUAGE  BETWEEN 


■V 


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%  %  WfM  ^^  lAH^^ARKT  I'OX. 


Mi. 


-  ■  lir^^'     vork: 


--"T;. 


THE 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.  KANE 


CONTAINING 


THE  CORRESPONDENCE,  AND  A  HISTORY  OF  TUB 

ACQUAINTANCE,    ENGAGEMENT,    AND 

SECRET  MARRIAGE  BETWEEN 


ELTSHA  K.  KANE  AND  MARGARET  FOX, 


WITH    FACSIMILES    OF    LETTERS, 
AND    HER    portrait; 


'&: 


*  NEW      YORK : 

Carleion,    Publisher y    413    Broadway, 


M  DCCO  LXVI. 


16U295 


Entcrod  nccorrling  to  Act  of  Con>rroH«,  In  tho  year  ls65,  by 

(JKo.    V.'.    CAULKTON. 

In  the  CMerk-9  OtTlco  of  th.>  iMstrict  Court  of  tho  Unltcl  States  for  the  South.- u 

District  of  Now  York. 


Introdhctk 
Memoir.. 


A  New  Excl 
Charnia  of 
Visits.— N 
Marriagc- 
about  Phi 
Future  Mri 


Dr.  Kane's  A 
His  Attenti 
Plain  spea 
quette  .  . . 


t  Mrs.  Fox  take 
Dr.  Kane  fc 
Loneliness  \ 
Battler's  Co 
goes  to  Host 
buying  a  Bo 


Visit  of  Mrs.  ] 
and  Letters  1 
ton.— Dr.  Ki 
complains  o 
Behavior  an 
Friend.— Dr. 
Her  "  Milk  a 
graphic  Desp 


B.   ORAIOIIEAD, 

Primer,  Sureoiyiwr,  iiiid  Kleelroiyper, 

Caxton  iSutltJing, 

8t.  fl3.  and  8ii  Centr*  Str**U 


Dr.  Kane's  Lett 
H  Life  of  Dec 
—Dr.  Kane  f 
Retrospection 

,  Love  deplore 
decide  if  she  i 


\ 


CONTENTS 


the  8outhf  M 


Introduction 13 

Mbmoih , 21 

I. 

A  New  Excitement  in  Philadelphia.— Dr.  Kane's  First  Visit.— Love  at  First  Sight.— 
Charms  of  tiie  Young  Lady. — Her  Freedom  from  Vanity. — Dr,  Kane's  repeated 
Visits. — Notes  to  Mrs.  and  Miss  Fox. — "  A  Prophecy." — Dr,  Kane's  Proposal  of 
Marriage. — Its  Acceptance. — Good  Advice  and  Promises  of  Devotion. — Drives 
about  Philadelphia. — Visit  to  Laurel  Hill  Cemetery.— Introductions  as  "  The 
Future  ftlrs.  Kane." — "  A  Story"  In  Verse  by  Dr.  Kane 21 

II.         . 

Dr.  Kane's  Anxiety  to  remove  Miss  Fox  from  her  Association  with  Spiritualist*. — 
His  Attentions  noticed. — Hla  IndlfTerence  to  Mrs.  Grundy. — Ills  Discontent. — 
Plain  speaking  to  hla  "Maggie." — The  Dream  of  Love. — Regard  for  Eti- 
quette   42 

III. 

[  Mrs.  Fox  takes  her  Daughters  to  New  York. — Residence  In  Twenty-sixth  Street. — 
Dr.  Kane  follows  them. — His  Complaints  of  the  Young  Lady's  Coldness. — His 
Loneliness  without  Her. — His  burdensome  Duties. — He  proposes  a  Meeting  at 
Battler's  Cosmoramas. — Miss  Fox  refuses  any  clandestine  Meeting. — Dr.  Kane 
goes  to  Boston. — Letters  written  while  Miss  Fox  was  In  New  York. — Dr.  Kane 
buying  a  Bonnet 51 

IV. 

"Visit  of  Mrs.  Fox  and  her  Daughters  to  Washington. — Telegraphic  Despatches 
and  Lettera  from  Dr,  Kane. — Mayor  Seaver's  Dinner  at  the  Revere  House,  Bos- 
ton.— Dr.  Kane's  Lecture  in  Boston. — Dr.  Kane  admires  his  Lady  Love,  but 
complains  of  her  not  writing,  and  her  Want  of  ardent  Love. — Advice  as  to 
Behavior  and  Dress  In  Washington.— The  Laces. — The  Lover  merged  in  the 
Friend. — Dr.  Kane's  Illness  from  hard  Work, — His  Longing  for  "Maggie." — 
Her  "  Milk  and  Water  Love." — Dr.  Kane  craves  "  Her  whole  Heart." — Tele- 
graphic Despatches  during  Illness, — Miss  Pox  lost  in  Washington 69 


Dr.  Kane's  Letter  t,o  Miss  Kate  Fox.—"  The  Spirits"  in  Boston.— Warnings  against 
a  Life  of  Deception. — A  Sad  Instance  of  Credulity-  Cruelty  in  the  "  Medium." 
—Dr.  Kane  thinks  "  Maggie"  esteems  him  too  lightly. — Dr.  Kane's  Letter  of 
Retrospection. — His  own  Destinies. — The  "  Little  Priestess." — His  falling  In 
Love  deplored. — Is  she  worthy  so  much  AflFectlon? — Appeal  to  "Maggie"  to 
decide  if  she  really  cares  for  him. — She  is  like  Surrey's  Geraldine 70 


.IV 


CONTENTS. 


VI. 

Dr.  Knne  roiiiCH  to  WaxliIniJtton.— Ktltni<tfi'ol»«i'rv«Ml,— "  TbePn'ftrlu'r"  at  Kniilt  ~ 
The  ^*olUo(Hly  (norlu'iini  In  t\ut  \Viinln)l>«' — \Vii!«lilii^t  "IT  the  Coii^li  J^yruii.— 
Dilvt'H  iiboiil  Waxliirifflon.  — Iiilliifii/.ii  iiini  'rt'li'Kritphlc  Di'Hjmtolu'i*. — Dr.  Kiiiit-'s 
LftttTH  from  I'lillftdi'lpliiii.  — Il<'  claliiiH  '*  MajCKlo"  hh  her  Muster —I,cii(llim  Iht 
to  bettor  Ways.— Itetiirn  of  Mrs  Fox  and  lii-r  Daiif(liter8  to  I'liiladelpliia.  -  Dr. 
Kane'H  KnqulrieH  after  Schools.—"  MagK'^'"  muat  g've  up  her  prtftetit  A»Hocia- 
tioiia  and  Ht-ttle  down  to  School  Life.— Tlie  Lovers'  Compact.— An  hnniedlntu 
Union  Inipogglble 80 


Mrfl.  Fox  I 
Inj,'.— Ite 
for  Mrs. 
— Crooki 
tening  h 
The  Com 


VII. 

Return  of  Mrs.  and  Miss  Fox  to  New  York. — Dr.  Kane's  Letters  from  WashlnRton. 
— His  Visit  to  th»'lr  Hotel. — His  lUininlscences  and  Cautions. — The  Prospect  of  a 
Home  for  Miss  Fox  durinK  his  Absence. — Dr.  Kane's  MlsulvlngH  —  He  nnist  >;lvf 
up  Ids  liove  unless  she  abjures  the  Spirits.— (lloomy  ForelKxIlnns. — Purity  of  Dr. 
Kane's  Affection. — His  Indignation  at  an  unworthy  Suspicion. — Miss  Fox  toct 
Bpttrlng  of  her  Letters.— Dr.  Kane's  Kei)roache8. — Proposal  of  a  Visit  to  the 
lltmie  selected  —"  You  are  my  Clilld  now."  01 

VIII. 

Dr.  Kane's  Presentiments. — Return  from  Washington. — He  craves  Love. — Tietlcr 
gent  by  Mr.  (irinnell. — Dr.  Kane's  Fears  lest  the  Kapplngs  should  be  found  out. 
—  He  would  not  know  the  Secret  for  Ten  Thousand  Dollars. — Letters  in  New 
York. — Dr.  Kane's  Disgust  at  Spiritual  Circles. — He  does  not  wish  to  be  thougiit 
a  Fool 1(13 

IX. 

Dr.  Kane's  Illness  at  Mr.  Orlnnell's,  in  New  York. — Notes  to  Miss  Fox. — Craves 
her  Presence. — Offers  to  Hind  himself  In  Writing  to  her,  and  urges  her  to  do 
the  same. — His  Sufferings  and  Patience. — Miss  Fox  replies  that  he  need  not 
bind  himself. — His  Notes.— Kntreating  her  Affection. — He  urges  a  Visit  in  her 
Sister's  Company. — His  Ueproaehes  for  lier  Refusal. — Complaints  of  her  Want. 
of  Love. — He  cannot  be  angry  with  her. — Misis  Fox's  Visit  to  Dr.  Kane  at  Mr.'< 
Orlnnell's  House lOti 


m 


Dr.  Kane  e; 
Girl's  Lo 
New  Yorl 
his  Reti 
Account  t 
Ills  Retur 


Sailing  of  D 
Letter  froi 
Advice  ab 
—His  Adv 
Sorrow  aff 
Mrs.  W — 
Mr.  Grimi( 


Dr.  Kane's  L 
of  him.— i> 
Knowledge 
Mrs.  liayar 


X. 

Convalescence  of  Dr.  Kane. — The  Wife  of  President  Pierce  and  Miss  Fox. — Notes 
from  Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox. — Visit  to  the  Theatre  with  Kate  and  Mr.  (I.  — Dr. 
Kintj's  nocturnal  Reflections. —Advice  and  Warnir^gs.— His  Indignation  at  Mrs. 
♦♦*♦. — He  promises  .MLss  Fox  her  Freedom  in  a  Week. — Entreats  her  Promise 
never  to  permit  liuppiugs  In  her  Presence  again     11* 


XI. 

Dr.  Kane's  Consultations  with  Mrs.  Fox  about  sending  Margaret  to  School. — .Tour- 
ney projected  to  New  Haven. — Letters  from  l)i .  Kane  to  Miss  Fox  prepnru- 
tory.  — Mrs.  Fox  accompanies  them  to  New  Haven. — The  Sickness  of  a  Kelativ. 
— The  Vl.>*it  to  New  Haven  not  satisfactory. — Preparations  going  on  for  the 
Arctic  F.xp'-ditlon.- Dr.  Kane's  Visit  after  the  Decease  of  Ml.ss  Fox's  Relative. - 
\IU  solemn  Vow  in  Presence  of  the  Corpse. — Moralizing  Letter. — Wariiiiigs  an' 
Kiitrtaty  for  a  Promise  of  a  com])lete  Separation  from  S])iritiialism  — ^()lenlI 
I'roinisf  of  Miss  Fox. — Dr.  Kane's  ciuiering  Anticipations  of  IKt  Kiit\ire  Life.— 
Kefera  to  their  expected  Happiness  In  the  Wed»ling  Visit  to  Italy  on  lib 
Return 126 


at  Fnult  — 

Dr.  Kiiiu-'f* 
I'liilliig  htT 
Iphlii.-  Dr. 
it  AmocIh- 
Imiiu'dlate 
W) 


Vashlngton. 
rospect.  of  a 
J  niiiKt  K'ivi- 
•urlty  of  Dr. 
llsH  Fox  t<ll> 
visit  to  tlu- 
CI 


OVP. — Tictier 
V  fouiul  out. 
ttiTS  in  Ntw 
o  l)e  tlioutrlit 
103 


Fox.— Craves 
'I'S  her  to  do 
111'  jH'tMi  not 
Visit  in  li<r 
of  iier  Want. 
Kane  at  Mrs 
iOt: 


Fox.— NotfS 
Mr.  (1.— Dr. 
lation  at  Mrs. 
lier  Promise 
IIT 


Icliool. — Jour- 

Ifox  prepiirii- 

lof  a  Ui'lativ. 

on    for   tlif 

'.*  Iti-lative.- 

|Viirnint;s  uiii' 

ism  — r-oliMui 

|ntmf  l-iff - 

Italy    on    lii' 

.....  l'^5 


•I 


CONTENTS.  V 

XII. 

Mrs.  Fox  and  her  Family  ro  to  Rochester. — Lctteni  from  Dr.  Kane. — HIh  Pn-ach- 
ing. — Itt'ference  to  tlie  Vow  nunle  In  the  PreMfiure  of  DtNitii.— Dr.  Kane  presMfS 
for  MrH.  Fox'h  Answer  about  llie  Soliool  near  IMiiladelphla.^Tlie  .Matter  m-tlU'd. 
— Crookvllle  to  be  tlie  Home  of  Miss  Fox,  near  l>r.  Kane's  Aunt. — Letters  has- 
tentng  her  I'reparatlonH. — Jeu  d'KHprit. — "  The  Preacher"  and  "  Manu'e." — 
The  Compact  iu  Furou. — MImd  Fax's  Portrait. — Dr.  Kuiie's  tiuperstitlou 180 

XIII. 

Dr.  Kane  escorts  Mrs.  and  Miss  Fox  to  Pldladelphia. — The  Partlnpf. — Tlie  younff 
Girl's  Love  and  borrow. — Extract  from  her  .Tournal.— Letter  from  Dr.  Kane  in 
,  New  York  on  the  Eve  of  his  Departure  — His  Reference  to  their  Marriu^e  on 
hU  Return.— The  Farewell.— .Mrs.  Fox's  Return  from  Philadelphia.- Her 
Account  of  Margaret's  Orlef. — Dr.  Kane  resolves  to  pay  her  one  more  Visit.— 
His  Return  from  CrookviUe  and  Recovery  of  her  Bird 147 

XIV. 

Sailing  of  Dr.  Kane,  May  80th,  1858  —Letters  from  Mr.  Grlnnell  to  Miss  Fox.— 
Letter  from  Dr.  Kane,  written  at  Sea  — Another  written  at  riea. — More  KO"d 
Advice  about  School  Matters  and  Studies. — Mr.  Orlnneil's  Accounts  of  Dr.  Kane. 
— His  Advice  about  the  School. — Mrs.  Lelper's  Interest  in  the  Young  Lady.— Her 
Sorrow  affects  her  Health. — Visit  to  New  York. — Letters  from  Mrs.  Turner. — 

Mrs.  W 'a  Letter. — Mrs.  Turner's  Reply.— Letters  to  Miss  Fox  at  School.— 

Mr.  Grlnnell  forwards  a  Letter  from  Greenland 104 

XV. 

•  Dr.  Kane's  Letter  from  Greenland  to  Miss  Fox. — Mr.  Grlnnell's  further  Account 
of  him. — Suspense. — Miss  Gray's  Letters.— Mrs.  Turner's.- Mr.  Grinneira.— 
Knowledge  of  the  Engagement  between  Miss  Fox  and  Dr.  Kane. — Letter  from 
Mrs.  Bayard. — Mrs.  Turner  congratulates  Miss  Fox  on  Dr.  Kane's  Arrival..  175 

XVI. 

The  Letters  quoted  show  the  Knowledge  of  her  Betrothal  among  the  Friends  of 
Miss  Fox. — Newspaper  Articles. — The  Family  Pride  mortified. — Miss  Fox  in  New 
Y'ork  when  Dr  Kane  arrives. — She  awaits  his  Visit. — He  does  not  come.— Her 
Chagrin  and  Grief.— The  Visit  late  at  Night.— Not  Dr.  Kane,  but  Mr.  Grlnnell  — 
Dr.  Kane*8  Visit  next  Morning. — Miss  Fox  refuses  to  see  him. — Consents  with 
Reluctance. — Trouble  in  his  Family,  and  Oppo.sition  to  his  Engagement.— He 
loves  her,  but  must  defer  their  Marriage. — She  assents  and  writes  the  State- 
ment he  requires. — Permits  his  Visits  as  a  Brother. — Mrs.  Lelper's  Indignation 
at  Dr.  Kane's  Conduct.— Visit  of  an  Editor.-  The  Friends  of  Miss  Fox  interfere. 
— Dr.  Kane  entreats  Miss  Fox  to  •'  stand  firm." — His  Notes. — Promises  to  be 
true  to  her 190 

-  XVII. 

PfLctter  from  Dr.  Kane  entreating  Miss  Fox  to  have  no  Association  with  Spiritualists. 
—More  of  the  ''  Preacher's"  Moralizing.- A  Fairy  Story.— Miss  Fox  writes  to 
her  "  Brother." — Dr.  Kane's  Reply  — Mrs.  Fox  remonstrates,  and  requests  him 
to  cease  visiting  her  Daughter.— He  cannot  comply. — Meeting  of  Miss  Fo.\-'8 
Friends -—Dr.  Kane's  Anguish  and  Dread  of  Separation, — He  is  forbidden  to 
see  or  write  to  Miss  Fox.— Her  Farewell  Letter.— Dr.  Kane's  Distress.- He 
entreats  her  to  write  to  him,  and  promises  Fidelity 201 


T 


V\ 


CONTENTS. 


I  ; 


XVIII. 

Conttniianct'  of  Dr.  Khiio'm  VI«!u.— Ho  pliicen  lil«  Pute  In  MIhh  Fox'h  Iliindii.— She 
rt'fimt's  to  iimrry  Jilin. — Defuiioc  of  hbt  Conduct —He  nilin  on  Mrs.  Kox,  when 
he  ciinnot  n»-e  hiT  Dautrhter. — He  ciinnot  give  lier  up.— Newnpftper  KeporU.— 
Article  from  the  N.  >'.  Trlhunti. — Tho  Timen  imtl  the  Liuly  author  of  ItH  State- 
tnent  — Dr.  Kane's  Noten  and  Lettern  to  MIhm  Fox —Her  reprovhiK  Letter  — 
The  (loud  lifted.— Dr.  Kane'n  Health  Impaired  liy  the  >StruKKl*)  of  FeelhiK — 
MrH.  Fox  returnH  hix  Letter  to  her  Daughter,  and  forhidx  him  to  write  to  her 
again.— He  writes  Miss  Fox  a  Farewell. — A  formal  Note,  with  his  Portrait..  214 

XIX. 

Dn  Kane's  Renewal  of  his  Kn^a^ement  with  MIhh  Fox. — Injunctltns  of  Secrecy.— 
Shower  of  Notes. —ViMits  every  Day. — Dr.  Kane's  Hours  of  Fun  and  droll  Inii- 
tatlon.<«. — Practical  Joke  on  a  SplrituallMt. — The  Parlor  Sanctuary. — Dr.  Kane's 
Uecolleetlons  of  former  Times  in  Self-Defence. — llefers  to  his  oft  repeated  Pro- 
mise of  Marriage 223 

XX. 

Dr.  Kane's  Letter  to  Mrs.  Fox  In  reply  to  a  Reproof  from  her.— Brotherly  Ijetter. 
— "The  Royal  Family." — Dr.  Kane  itslcs  Pardon  for  a  Fault. — His  Abhorrenoc 
of  Hpiritualisnu  — He  shields  his  Lady-Love  from  the  sight  of  any  "  Munifestn- 
tiou." — His  jealous  Cure  in  Guarding  her 240 

XXI 

ML-'s  Fox's  Letter.— Brief  Missives  written  In  the  Midst  of  Dr.  Kane's  Labors.— 
The  Wonderful  Stove. — Departure  of  Mrs.  and  .Miss  Fox  for  Canada. — Letter 
of  Miss  Fox  to  Dr.  Kane.— Dr.  Kane's  Letter  written  in  "Maggie's"  deserted 
Parlor  In  New  York. — Tlie  Lover  and  the  Poodle. — Letters  of  Sll.'is  Fox  from 
Canada. — Dr.  Kane  keeps  the  Key  of  her  Box  containing  his  Letters. — He  tells 
her  she  "  has  a  Fortune  In  tliera" 250 

,  XXII. 

Return  of  Mrs.  and  Miss  Pox  to  New  Yor'if. — Dr.  Kanr  has  watched  for  them,  and 
welcomes  them. — The  Diamond  Bracelet. — The  nUlet  ]>inned  up  In  Miss  Fox'h 
Parlor. — Notes  and  Verses. — Dr.  Kane  an  indifferent  Poet. — The  Surprise. — The 
Ambrotype. — Despondency  of  Dr.  Kane  In  View  of  Separation. — The  Solemn 
though  Secret  Marriage  of  Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox. — He  promises  thot  the  Mar- 
riage shall  be  made  public  In  May.— His  Note  to  his  Wife 268 

XXIII. 

Dr.  Kane's  sad  Forebodings. — He  does  not  now  doubt  his  Wife's  Love — The 
Envelope  with  a  private  .Mark. — Making  his  Will. — A  Legacy  left  to  Mrs.  Kane.— 
"A  Secret  Trust.^'— The  Adleux.— The  Final  Parting.— Distress  of  Both.— "Shnil 
I  go,  or  stay?"— Dr.  Kane's  Notes  from  England  and  at  Sea.— His  last  Letter.— 
Mrs.  Kane's  Letters  to  Havana.- Death  of  Dr.  Kane. — Extract  from  Mrs. 
Kane's  Journal — Hlcks's  Painting  of  Dr.  Kane  described. — Mrs.  Kane's  Appeal 
for  her  Husband's  last  Message  to  her. — Her  abiding  (Irlef. — Her  Admission 
Into  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. — Baptism.— Letters  of  Condolence  from 
Governor  Tallmadge 278 


It  ii 

private 

seiitin^ 

moot  t 

seems 

putatio 

that  nc 

the  leti 

conside 

spect,  h 

were  ad 

for  any 

poverty 

years  a^ 

that,  to 

trust  for 

for  a  ti 

sneers  o 

gard  for 

protect, 

most  inji 

reached 

her  fair 

tions ;  yc 

even  this 


PREFACE. 


It  is  customary,  in  publishing  personal  memoirs  or 
private  correspondence,  to  make  some  apology  for  pre- 
senting to  the  world  that  which  was  never  intended  to 
meet  the  public  eye.  In  the  case  of  love-letters  this 
seems  especially  necessary,  if  one  would  avoid  the  im- 
putation of  want  of  delicacy.  Perhaps  many  will  think 
that  no  circumstances  could  justify  the  publication  of 
the  letters  contained  in  this  volume.  But,  after  long 
consideration,  those  whose  opinions  are  entitled  to  re- 
spect, have  judged  differently.  The  lady  to  whom  they 
were  addressed  has  ever  held  these  letters  as  too  sacred 
for  any  eyes  save  her  own  to  rest  upon.  She  has  borne 
poverty  and  privation,  when  their  publication  many 
years  ago  might  have  given  her  an  independence  ;  and 
that,  too,  notwithstanding  that  the  small  sum  left  in 
trust  for  her  by  Dr.  Kane  has  been  (except  the  interest 
for  a  time)  withheld  from  her.  She  has  borne  the 
sneers  of  the  w^orld,  and  the  neglect  of  those  whose  re- 
gard for  the  deceased  should  have  induced  them  to 
protect,  comfort,  and  befriend  her.  She  has  borne 
most  injurious  calumnies,  which  from  time  to  time  have 
reached  her  in  her  seclusion.  Those  slanders  against 
I  her  fair  name  have  been  repeated  in  various  publica- 
itions ;  yet  she  might  be  willing  to  receive  in  silence 
^even  this  bitterest  portion  of  her  cup  of  sorrow,  and 


Vlll 


PREFACE. 


! 


go  down  to  the  grave  covered  with  unjust  obloquy, 
were  the  choice  left  entirely  to  herself.  But  it  has  not 
been  so  left.  After  repeated  threats  that  Dr.  Kane's 
letters  (her  only  treasure  and  vindication)  could  and 
would  be  taken  from  her  by  process  of  law,  she  reluc- 
tantly consented  to  have  copies  of  thera  made.  After 
this  was  done,  the  judgment  of  friends  overruled  her 
objections,  and  the  letters  were  incorporated  in  a 
memoir.  Their  publication,  it  was  urgf>d,  would  vindi- 
cate the  honor  of  both  parties  to  the  correspondence ; 
for  both  had  severely  suffered  from  the  slanders  spread 
abroad. 

In  1862,  the  volume  was  in  press  ;  bat  its  publication, 
ac  well  as  a  suit  in  the  Orphans'  court,  Philadelphia,  for 
dower,  on  the  widow's  part,  was  stopped  by  a  compro- 
mise with  the  brothers  and  executor  of  Dr.  Kane.  One 
of  the  brothers  agreed  to  pay  her  an  annuity  equal  to 
the  interest  of  the  money  left  her,  in  quarterly  instal- 
ments, and  the  sum  of  two  thousand  dollars  down,  to 
repay  the  expenses  she  had  incurred,  provided  she 
would  discontinue  the  suit  for  dower,  and  would  seal 
up  the  letters  and  copies,  with  the  MS.  memoir,  proof- 
sheets,  <fcc.,  and  place  them  in  the  hands  of  a  Trustee, 
who  should  be  bound  to  prevent  her  access  to  them, 
and  to  surrender  them  to  the  Kane  family  at  her  death. 
The  Trustee  selected  was  Dr.  Edward  Bayard,  of  New 
York.  A  bond  was  executed  by  the  brother  aforesaid, 
for  the  faithful  performance  of  the  stipulated  terms.  In 
the  event  of  the  failure  to  pay  any  quarterly  ins^talment 
of  the  annuity,  Mrs.  Kane  was  permitted  to  reclaim  her 


letters, 
soon  vi 
Dr.  Ka 
his  bon 
part  thj 
which, 
she  con 
trusted 
in  hope 
mised  s 
necessai 
dodges  '■ 
evade   t 
Then  he 
regard  e( 
queathec 
the  hurr 
to  time, 
solicitati 
l)ayment 
thousanc 
recover 
ceive  as 
der  anv 
and  wor 
tious  an 
matters 
nnuity 

*  It  is  s 
md  dollai 


PREFACE. 


IX 


letters,  &c.,  from  the  Trustee.  This  agreement  was 
soon  violated  by  the  refusal  of  the  brother  of  the  Inte 
Dr.  Kane,  to  pay  more  than  one  half  the  sum  named  in 
his  bond  for  her  expenses.  A  demand  was  made  on  his 
part  that  she  should  release  hiiu  from  this  obligation, 
which,  in  justice  to  those  to  whom  she  was  indebted, 
she  could  not  do.  For  the  sake  of  others  who  had 
trusted  her,  she  was  compelled  to  resort  to  another  suit 
in  hopes  of  obtaining  the  remaining  half  of  the  pro- 
mised sum ;  but  she  was  unable  to  afford  the  expense 
necessary  to  carry  it  on,  or  to  encounter  the  "  legal 
dodges "  and  delays  resorted  to  by  the  defendant  to 
evade  the  fulfilment  of  the  conditions  of  his  bond. 
Then  her  quarterly  payments  of  annuity-— which  she  had 
regarded  as  strictly  her  own — the  interest  of  money  be- 
queathed to  her — a  mere  pittance,  insufficient  of  itself  for 
the  humblest  maintenance  * — were  withheld  from  time 
to  time,  till  she  was  forced  to  repeated  applications  and 
solicitations  therefor.  Threats  were  made  of  refusing 
payment  of  the  annuity  entirely,  unless  she  released  the 
thousand  dollars  aforesaid,  and  discontinued  the  suit  to 
recover  the  same.  Mortified  at  being  compelled  to  re- 
ceive as  a  grudged  bounty  what  she  was  entitled  to  un- 
der any  circumstances  and  without  any  contingencies — 
land  worn  out  with  the  continuance  of  a  strife  so  vexa- 
tious and  humiliating — Mrs.  Kane  at  length  allowed 
matters  to  take  their  course ;  and  when  the  quarterly 
|annuity  due  in  May,  1865,  was  in  default,  she  availed 

*  It  is  said  that  the  Kano  family  have  received  one  hundred  thou- 
Isand  dollars  from  the  copyrights  of  the  late  Dr.  Kane. 


I  i: 


X  PREFACE. 

herself  of  the  privilege  guaranteed  to  her  by  the  terms 
of  the  bond,  and  reclaimed  her  letters  of  the  Trustee. 
She  declared  her  determination  never  again  to  part 
with  a  treasure  in  which  her  very  life  was  bound  up. 

When  the  fact  of  her  marriage  with  the  late  Dr. 
Kane  was  alluded  to  in  the  newspapers  a  short  time 
since,  a  telegram  from  Philadelphia,  pronouncing  "  the 
story  "  "  a  canard,"  was  sent  in  the  name  of  the  Kane 
family  to  the  Associated  Press.  Could  any  woman  who 
respected  herself  submit  to  such  an  indignity  ?  What 
was  there  about  her  whom  Dr.  Kane  had  wooed  and 
wedded,  that  she  should  be  thus  insulted,  and  denied 
common  justice  under  an  outrageous  imputation  ?  Her 
sole  means  of  defence,  her  only  vindi'  ation — was  the 
publication  of  this  correspondence. 

The  world  usually  sides  with  the  rich,  the  proud,  and 
the  powerful ;  and  it  is  not  expected  that  the  poor,  the 
humble,  and  the  weak,  will  receive  either  justice  or 
sympathy.  But  some  good  will  be  accomplished  in  the 
unquestionable  proof  afforded  of  the  pure  and  spotless 
character  of  the  two  persons  whose  hearts  are  laid  open 
in  this  correspondence.  The  publication  may  do  ser- 
vice also  to  the  community,  in  exhibiting  the  folly  of 
that  spirit  of  prejudice,  which  in  this  instance  helped  to 
cut  short  one  valued  life,  and  irreparably  blighted  another. 

Several  unimportant  letters,  and  some  nearly  repeti- 
tions of  others,  have  been  left  out  of  the  collection;  and 
in  one  or  two  instances,  portions  in  which  persona  are 
mentioned  or  alluded  to,  have  been  omitted.  Portions 
of  other  letters  were  ta^  on  '^ut  by  Dr.  Kane  himself. 


■I  ! 


Wp     *'    * 

J^^    ^ 

|H/2k^     ^4^ 

^B  /s^^  ^ 

ya«^«u^;         -^^^ 

0 


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/- 


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{after  marriage) 


<^^^^ 


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y 


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A 


R  marriage) 


A^y^^c^,..^^  ^'^y^-^y^  ^"^^^^^-^  -^^^ 


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wv^  >yW-^  e^ 


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v*'*:.^-^^/' 


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!  11!.. 


INTRODUCTION. 


A  REVIEWER  of  Dr.  Elder's  Biography  of  Dr.  E.  K 
Kane,  noticing  the  author's  statement  that  he  had 
access  to  the  private  correspondence  of  the  great 
explorer,  and  claimed  the  credit  of  showing  all  the 
important  points  of  his  life  and  character — says :  "It 
is  because  we  are  satisfied  that  Dr.  Elder  only  had 
access  to  part  of  the  Doctor's  private  correspondence, 
and  because  the  book  records  only  the  exterior  and 
gilded  life  of  Dr.  Kane,  that  we  are  obliged  to  look 
upon  it  as  defective.  There  was  a  deep  under-current 
in  the  navigator's  life,  which  the  distinguished  bio- 
grapher knew  nothing  of,  and  which  the  family  did 
not  place  at  his  disposal.  We  allude  to  the  love-life 
of  Dr.  Kane ;  the  spontaneous  feelings  which  pro- 
duced the  extensive  *  private  correspondence '  with  a 
young  lady  in  New  York,  in  which  his  real  inner 
existence  is  manifest.  The  biography  would  have 
been  more  strictly  true,  if  it  had  revealed  the  fact  ♦  I 
an  engagement  there,  in  which  his  feelings  were  fully 
enlisted ;  but  which  he  repudiated  when  he  returned 
covered  with  the  tinsel  and  show  of  glory,  because 


u 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


I'i 


his  friends  thought  it  beneath  him  to  marry  one  who 
had  not  t..  "tamp  of  dollars  and  aristocracy  to  add 
to  his  reno',,  ».  In  this  his  courage  failed,  and  he 
yielded  his  own  higher  feelings  to  the  vain  applause 
of  the  world ;  while  he  insisted  on  keeping  up  a  cor- 
respondence with  the  young  lady  after  he  went  to 
Cuba,  and  until  near  the  time  of  his  death.  Here  is 
a  phase  of  Dr.  Kane's  life  which  should  be  made 
public;  and  if  the  letters  are  ever  published  (an 
event  not  likely  to  occur,  we  learn),  another  impor- 
tant leaf  can  be  added  to  the  biography  which  has 
just  appeared." 

There  is  certainly  no  kind  of  correspondence  that 
so  reveals  the  inner  life  and  soul  of  a  man  as  his 
love-letters.  No  experience,  like  that  of -the  heart, 
commands  sympathy,  because  none  so  fully  discloses 
and  renders  us  intimate  with  the  individual.  The 
most  detailed  record  of  Dr.  Kane's  plans,  adventures, 
and  achievements,  could  not  throw  half  the  light  on 
his  personal  character  that  a  memoir  of  his  love-life 
does. 

The  loves  of  eminent  men,  through  the  world's 
literary  history,  have  not  only  shared  their  renown, 
but  have  aided  them  to  deserve  it.  Petrarch — the 
model  after  whom  the  early  poets  shaped  their  amo- 
rous fancies — does  not  the  world  owe  him  to  Laura  ? 
And  does  not  Waller  live  in  Saccharissa  ?  From 
Wyatt  and  Surrey — through  the  poetical  literature 
of  Elizabeth  and  the  First  and  Second  Charles — down 


LOVE-LIFE  OP  DR.   KANE. 


15 


to  the  '*  Grand  Turk  of  amatory  verse,"  Lord  Byron, 
and  the  bards  of  the  present  day,  the  love-element 
has  contributed  vastly  to  the  popularity  of  poetry. 
It  id  by  the  story  of  his  love  for  the  fair  Geraldine — 
marvellous  as  a  knightly  romance — that  the  Earl  of 
Surrey  is  held  in  remembrance ;  it  is  for  Stella's  sake 
that  we  linger  over  the  sonnets  of  Sydney.  "Who 
thinks  of  Klopstock  without  Meta  ?  And  who  for- 
gets the  tender  sadness  that  breathes  in  Donne's  com- 
plaints, in  his  laconic  epistle — "  John  Donne — Anne 
Donne — undone  I  "  The  loves  of  Burns — numberless 
as  leaves  in  Vallambrosa,  or  "  the  gay  motes  that 
people  the  sunbeams," — what  would  his  poetry  be 
without  them  'i 

Letters  between  lovers  are  still  more  interesting, 
because  they  bring  the  actual  life  and  feelings  of  the 
writers  closer  to  our  sympathies.  The  letters  of 
Stella  and  Vanessa  to  Swift  have  embalmed  their 
names.  How  many  have  sighed  over  the  tender  sor- 
rows of  Abelard  and  Heloise  1  The  correspondence 
of  Goethe  with  Bettina  will  live  as  long  as  the  most 
elaborate  works  of  the  great  poet. 

The  letters  of  love  and  friendship  of  a  man  of 
science  and  heroic  adventure  are  the  more  valuable 
as  they  form  almost  the  only  outlet  for  his  proper 
individuality.  The  learned  man  or  the  hero,  in  such 
outpourings  of  his  secret  heart,  appears  in  an  aspect 
contrasted  with  that  of  his  public  life,  and  the  more 
affecting  in  proportion  to  the  contrast.      Thus  we 


16 


LOVE-LIFE   OF  DR.    KANE. 


':: 


ii 


become  convinced — to  use  the  language  of  the  biogra- 
pher of  Dr.  Kane — that  "  our  man  of  mighty  enter- 
prise and  world-wide  notoriety  had  a  heart  and  soul 
in  him ;  all  nerve  to  the  demands  of  duty,  but  in  the 
deepest,  dearest  sense,  all  tenderness,  devotion,  and 
tact  in  the  offices  of  affection." 

The  brief  and  brilliant  career  of  Dr.  Kane  was 
marked  by  more  of  both  suffering  and  achievement 
than  has  been  crowded  into  the  history  of  as  few 
years  in  the  lives  of  the  most  remarkable  men.     It 
has  been   well  said  that    "no  human  quantity  of 
omniscience  and  providence  would  have  been  a  full 
match  for  the  duties  with  which  this  one  man  was 
burdened."     "When  we  see  the   man   thus  pressed 
under  his  multitudinous  obligations — "  while  his  pen 
was  running,  his  telegraphs  flying," — while  "  he  was 
worrying  the  Department,  examining  recruits,  invent- 
ing cooking-stoves,  pricing  rounds  of  beef,  rummaging 
the  Medical  Bureau  at  Washington — till  he  had  suc- 
ceeded in  begging  some  two  thousand  dollars'  worth 
of  outfit,  all  the  while  up  to  his  elbows  in  a  batch  of 
Department  dough,  that  was  only  souring  while  he 
was  trying  to  make  it  rise," — when  we  see  him  at  a 
milliner's  choosing  a  little  girl's  bonnet,  trying  to 
catch  an   escaped  canary   bird  in   Philadelphia,  or 
quitting  his  work  on  the  very  eve  of  embarking  upon 
his  great  expedition,  to  go  over  a  hundred  miles  to 
comfort  a  homesick  schoolgirl  in  her  country  seclusion 
— we  are  all  the  more  touched  by  his  tendej-ness,  and 


LOVE-LIPE  OF  DR.    KANE. 


17 


wonder  at  the  depth  and  ardor  of  the  love  that 
impelled  him.  So  the  little  incident  of  his  carrying 
the  portrait  of  his  beloved  one  strapped  to  his  back, 
through  the  dreary  Arctic  wastes,  gives  us  a  better 
insight  into  a  true  and  noble  heart  than  all  the  anec- 
dotes collated  by  his  biographer. 

There  was  a  complication  in  this  attachment  of 
Dr.  Kane's  which  does  not  belong  to  ordinary  love 
affairs.  The  young  girl  to  whom  his  heart  was 
given,  whom  he  so  often  called  his  "  godsend,"  was 
inferior  to  him  in  social  position.  This  may  sound 
strangely  in  America,  where,  in  theory,  no  social 
distinctions  are  recognised,  and  where  ability  and 
education  every  day  elevate  their  possessor  to  supe- 
rior power  and  influence  in  spite  of  diflSculties.  But 
it  was  not  want  of  fortune  nor  want  of  education 
that  alone  stood  in  the  way.  The  profession  of 
mediumship  for  "spiritual  manifestations"  was  from 
its  commencement  under  the  ban  of  public  disfavor 
and  suspicion.  It  was  generally  supposed  that 
deception  was  practised  on  the  credulous  by  artful 
persons  who  made  money  out  of  the  delusions  they 
created.  That  one  so  distinguished  and  highly 
esteemed  as  Dr.  Kane  should  love  and  wed  an 
untutored  girl,  with  only  beauty  and  virtue  for  her 
dower,  was  scarcely  pardonable  by  a  proud  family  ; 
but  the  added  odium  of  the  spirit-rapping  association 
his  family  could  not  possibly  bear ;  his  friends  shrank 
from  it ;  he,  himself,  with  all  his  tried  bravery,  trem- 


ii 


iM 


18 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.  KANE. 


!■!    ill 


;i      i 


bled  to  encounter  it.  This  dread  of  public  derision, 
of  the  censure  and  pity  of  those  he  esteemed,  of  the 
lowering  which  his  reputation  might  suffer,  caused 
the  struggles  apparent  in  many  of  his  earlier  letters, 
between  his  regard  for  the  world's  opinion  and  the 
love  that  had  entwined  itself  with  every  fibre  of  his 
being.  How  deep  and  strong  must  that  love  have 
been,  to  come  ofl"  victorious  from  such  a  conflict ! 

His  affection  waa  not  strengthened  in  its  first 
growth  by  any  fervent  response  from  its  fair  object. 
She  was  in  years  almost  a  child,  in  experience  wholly 
one ;  surrounded  by  the  disciples  of  spiritualism,  who 
regarded  her  as  a  chosen  apostle  of  the  new  belief, 
and  by  kindred  most  unwilling  to  give  her  up  to  a 
destiny  that  would  remove  her  far  from  them.  There 
was  opposition,  rather  than  favor,  among  her  nearest 
relations,  to  the  suit  of  her  lover.  She  was  proud, 
too,  in  her  gentle  way,  and  perhaps  not  disposed  to 
open  her  maiden  heart  unreservedly  to  one  who 
despised  her  associates,  condemned  her  calling,  and 
often  thought  himself  bound  in  self-respect  to  give 
her  up  for  ever.  The  consciousness  of  his  own  supe- 
riority seemed  ever  present,  even  in  the  warmest 
expressions  of  his  regard ;  and  she  was  too  young  to 
perceive  in  this  unwilling  condescension  the  strongest 
proof  of  the  power  of  her  own  attractions.  This 
state  of  things  should  be  borne  in  mind  while  reading 
letters  that  appear  strange  on  the  Doctor's  side,  or 
cold  and  reserved  on  hers.    It  was,  in  Dr.  Kane's 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


19 


own  words,  "  a  mutual  dread"  that  trammelled  both; 
— this  fear  of  the  censures  and  the  misconstruction 
of  those  around  them.  Never  was  a  "  course  of  true 
love "  pursued  under  circumstances  more  unpro- 
pitious. 

In  both,  the  affection  proved  strong  enough  to 
triumph  over  adverse  circumstances.  The  young 
girl  abjured  "the  spirits"  for  ever;  suffered  herself 
to  be  separated  from  kindred  and  early  associations, 
and  gave  herself  irrevocably  in  a  life-consecration  to 
the  chosen  of  her  heart.  Her  coldness  was  changed 
to  a  devotion  which  death  itself  has  had  no  power  to 
chill  or  destroy.  The  lover,  after  a  severe  conflict 
with  the  tyranny  of  Prejudice — that  absolute  sove- 
reign of  the  American  republic — returned  to  his 
allegiance  to  his  soul's  first  and  only  idol.  Faithful 
to  death  was  he,  and  the  victory  thus  gained  in  the 
strength  of  a  noble  nature,  does  him  as  much  honor 
as  any  achieved  under  the  banner  of  science. 

The  account  given  by  Smucker  in  his  Life  of  Dr. 
Kane,  is  incorrect  in  the  statement  that  the  engage- 
ment, of  Miss  Fox  and  Dr.  Kane  commenced  before 
the  Doctor's  first  Arctic  Expedition.  It  was  shortly 
before  his  last  one.  Nor  could  the  young  lady  be 
considered  as  of  "  inferior  "  birth.  Her  father  was  a 
reputable  and  well-to-do  farmer,  who  owned  a  fine 
estate  in  Canada,  where  Margaret  was  born,  and  con- 
siderable property  in  the  western  part  of  the  State 
of  New  York.    His  ancestors  were  highly  respectable 


20 


LOVE-LIFE   OF  DR.   KANE. 


Germans,  the  name  being  originally  Voss.  [Mrs.  Fox 
was  of  the  Rutan  family,  of  French  origin,  and  of 
ancient  and  honorable  lineage.  Some  of  her  relations 
of  that  name  still  reside  near  Montreal,  possessors  of 
a  magnificent  estate,  and  esteemed  among  the  wealthy 
aristocracy  of  the  country.  Mr.  Fox  unfortunately 
lost  his  excellent  Canadian  property,  but  retained 
a  small  farm  in  New  York.  He  and  his  wife  were 
members  of  the  Methodist  church  in  good  standing, 
and  were  always  respected  by  their  neighbors. 


II  j'j: 


M' 


MEMOIR. 


m 


-•-♦- 


I. 

Late  in  the  autumn  of  1852,  Mrs.  Fox  and  her 
daughter  Margaret  were  occupying  rooms  at  Webb's 
Union  Hotel,  in  Arch  Street,  Philadelphia,  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  receptions  to  those  who  wished  to 
investigate  the  phenomena  of  what  was  called  "  Spiri- 
tual Manifestations."  Some  years  had  elapsed  since 
this  marvel  had  originat  i  in  the  famous  "  Eochester 
knockings,"  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Fox.  Public  atten- 
tion had  been  drawn  to  the  strange  occurrences  which 
were  reported  in  the  newspapers;  committees  of 
inquiry  had  visited  the  house  of  Mr.  Fox,  and  had 
conversed  and  tried  experiments  with  the  little  girls 
in  whose  presence  the  sounds  were  heard.  No  one 
could  penetrate  the  acknowledged  mystery;  although, 
when  exhibitions  were  given  in  New  York,  many 
gentlemen  distinguished  for  scientific  attainments  had 
examined  the  matter  repeatedly.  The  attention 
drawn  to  it  spread  rapidly  throughout  the  United 
States  and  throughout  the  world.  Invitations  to 
visit  the  principal  cities  poured  upon  the  family, 
sometimes  half-a-dozen  telegraphic  despatches  being 


22 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   EANE. 


H 


:,!!liiiiii 


received  in  a  day.  In  compliance  with  these  urgent 
and  importunate  requests  to  allow  the  curious  an 
opportunity  of  investigation,  th^  mother  of  the 
youthful  but  already  celebrated  "  mediums "  deter- 
mined to  make  a  short  sojourn  in  Philadelphia  and 
Washington  before  taking  up  her  residence  in  New 
York. 

It  is  at  all  times  easy  to  create  a  sensation  in  Phila- 
delphia. The  number  of  Quakers  who  live  there, 
the  social  habits  of  the  people,  the  absence  of  public 
amusements  generally  patronized,  render  the  popula- 
tion— especially  the  higher  and  more  educated  part 
of  it — peculiarly  susceptible  to  any  excitement  stir- 
ring their  neighborhood  or  their  quiet  city.  Such  a 
wonder  as  "  spirit-rappings  "  would  naturally  cause  a 
prodigious  commotion.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the 
receptions  were  thronged,  and  that  the  "medium" 
and  the  "  manifestations  "  were  the  subject  of  gene- 
ral comment.  Mrs.  Fox  had  left  her  youngest  daugh. 
ter,  Katharine,  then  a  mere  child,  at  school  in  New 
York  ;  and  Margaret,  then  scarcely  thirteen  years  of 
age,  was  the  one  through  whom  "  the  spirits "  held 
converse  with  those  of  this  world  who  sought  com- 
munication with  their  ghostships.  The  rappings 
made  in  her  presence  were  startlinj/ly  loud,  and  the 
invisible  agents  seemed  to  derive  great  power  from 
her  organization  to  make  their  various  demonstrations. 
She  herself  never  had  looked  deeply  enough  into  the 
mystery  to  have  any  belief  at  all  as  to  the  phenomena. 


1 11 


LOVE-LIFE  OP  DR.   KANE. 


28 


The  most  prominent  and  fashionable  people  of  the 
city  came  to  hear  the  mysterious  "  knockings,"  and 
to  have  their  questions  answered.  Clergymen  and 
doctors,  scientific  and  literaiy  persons,  the  lovely  and 
the  learned,  the  sentimental  and  the  stern,  were  daily 
in  attendance ;  and  yet  the  wonder  grew. 

One  morning,  about  ten  o'clock,  Dr.  E.  K.  Kane 
entered  the  magnificent  "  bridal  parlors  "  which  were 
appropriated  to  the  spiritual  sittings.  It  was  his  first 
visit ;  and,  seeing  a  very  young  lady  sitting  by  the 
window  with  a  book  in  her  hand,  he  imagined  that 
Tie  had  knocked  at  the  wrong  door.  "I  beg  your 
pardon,  madam,"  he  said  in  a  low  voice  to  Mrs.  Fox, 
"  I  have  made  some  mistake ;  can  you  direct  me  to 
the  rooms  where  the  *  spiritual  manifestations '  are 
shown  ?  " 

The  lady  informed  him  he  was  not  mistaken,  and 
invited  him  to  take  a  seat  at  the  table,  to  which  the 
youthful  medium  was  presently  summoned. 

The  Doctor  paid  little  attention,  however,  to  the 
spirits.  He  entered  into  conversation  with  Mrs.  Fox, 
now  and  then  glancing  at  Margaret,  who  still  held 
the  book  of  French  exercises  she  had  been  studying, 
and  by  stealth  read  the  lesson  whenever  the  conver- 
sation permitted.  She  was  intent  on  her  studies,  and 
little  dreamed  that  the  gentleman  she  now  saw  for 
the  first  time  would  exercise  such  an  influence  over 
her  future  destinies. 
Dr.  Kane  afterwards  said  repeatedly  that  his  deter- 


4 


24 


LOVE-LIFE  OF   DR.    KANE. 


K  :'!; 


mination  was  formed  on  this  first  interview  to  make 
Margaret  his  wife.  Little  as  she  suspected  his  feel- 
ings, he  loved  her  at  first  sight.  Her  beauty  was  of 
that  delicate  kind  which  grows  on  the  heart,  rather 
than  captivates  the  sense  at  a  glance ;  she  possessed 
in  a  high  degree  that  retiring  modesty  which  shuns 
rather  than  seeks  admiration.  The  position  in  which 
she  was  placed  imposed  on  her  unusual  reserve  and 
self-control,  and  an  ordinary  observer  might  not  have 
seen  in  her  aught  to  make  a  sudden  impression.  But 
there  was  more  than  beauty  in  the  charm  about  her 
discerned  by  the  penetrating  eyes  of  her  new* 
acquaintance.  The  winning  grace  of  her  modest 
demeanor,  and  the  native  refinement  apparent  in 
every  look  and  movement,  word  and  tone,  were  evi- 
dences of  a  nature  enriched  with  all  the  qualities  that 
dignify  and  adorn  womanhood ;  of  a  soul  far  above 
her  present  calling,  and  those  who  surrounded  her. 
To  appreciate  her  real  superiority,  her  age  and  the 
circumstances  must  be  considered.  She  was  yet  a 
little  child — untutored,  except  in  the  elements  of 
instruction  to  be  gained  in  country  district  schools, 
when  it  was  discovered  that  she  possessed  a  myste- 
'rious  power,  for  which  no  science  or  theory  could 
account.  This  brought  her  at  once  into  notoriety, 
and  gathered  around  her  those  who  had  a  fancy  for 
the  supernatural,  and  who  loved  to  excite  the  wonder 
of  strangers.  Most  little  girls  would  have  been 
spoiled  by  that  kind  of  attention.     The  endurance 


II     '^ 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


26 


of  it  wiuhout  having  her  head  turned,  argued  rare 
delicacy,  simplicity,  and  firmness  of  character.    After 
exhibitions  given  in  different  cities,  to  find  herself  an 
object  of  public  attention,  and  of  flattering  notice 
from  persons  of  distinction,  would  naturally  please 
the  vanity  of  a  beautiful  young  girl ;  and  it  would 
not  be  surprising  if  a  degree  of  self-conceit  were 
engendered.     But  Margaret  was  not  vain,  and  could 
not  be  made  self-conceited.     If  she  had  any  con- 
sciousness of  her  exquisite  loveliness, — if  it  pleased 
her  to  possess  pretty  dresses  and  ornaments — her 
delight  was  that  of  a  happy  child  taking  pleasure  in 
beautiful  things  without  reference  to  any  effect  they 
might  enable  her  to  produce.     Perhaps  no  young 
girl  ever  lived  more  free  from  the  least  idea  of 
coquetry  or  conquest.    She  heeded  not  the  expres- 
sions of  admiration  that  reached  her  ear  so  frequently. 
She  had  seen  enough  of  the  world  at  this  time  to  be 
aware  of  the  advantages  of  a  superior  education,  and 
it  was  the  most  ardent  wish  of  her  heart  to  make 
herself  a  well  educated  woman.    Thus  every  moment 
she  could  spare  was  devoted  to  study.    She  never 
appeared  in  public  without  some  older  lady,  and  in 
the  sittings  was    invariably    accompanied    by    her 
mother.    Young  as  she  was,  and  thus  secluded  from 
familiar    approach,   it  is  not  likely  she  had   ever 
thought  of  beaux,  or  the  admiration  of  the  other 
sex. 
When  Br.  Kane  had  left  the  rooms  on  the  occasion 

2 


/ 


I 


sl 


i  I 


LOVE-LIFE  or  DR.   KANE. 


just  mentioned,  Miss  Fox  expressed  herself  pleased 
with  his  manners  and  conversation.  The  next  day 
he  came  again.  *  This  time  he  took  little  or  no  heed 
of  the  spirits,  but  addressed  his  conversation  to  the 
young  lady,  and  spoke  seriously  to  her  of  the  course 
she  was  pursuing.  "  This  is  no  life  for  you,  my 
child,"  he  said,  plainly.  He  pointed  out  the  dangers 
of  living  so  continually  in  the  public  eye,  especially 
to  one  so  young.  "  You  ought  to  go  to  school  and 
remain  there  some  years,  till  your  education  is  com- 
pleted," he  continued.  His  words  found  an  echo  in 
Margaret's  own  wishes,  and  she  listened  to  him  with 
Btill  increasing  respect  and  attention.  Sh«  had,  in 
fact,  no  pleasure  in  her  professional  life,  and  could 
not  but  perceive  that  she  was  regarded  by  many 
with  distrust,  and  that  others  openly  charged  her 
with  deception,  supposing  that  she  had  some  occult 
machinery  for  making  the  raps,  and  for  answering 
the  queries  of  the  deluded.  Poor  girl  I  with  her 
simplicity,  ingenuousness,  and  timidity,  she  could 
not,  had  she  .been  so  inclined,  have  practised  the 
slightest  deception  with  any  chance  of  success. 

Dr.  Kane  became  a  daily  visitor,  and  sometimes 
came  twice  or  thrice  a  day ;  introducing  many  of  his 
friends  and  relatives  to  the  wonderful  rappings— 
much  as  in  his  heart  he  disliked  them — for  the  oppor- 
tunity they  afforded  him  of  seeing  and  talking  with 
tfee  fair  young  priestess  of  those  mysteries.  One  day, 
when  there  was  a  "circle,"  he  wrote  on  a  slip  of 


LOVE-LIFE  or  PR.    KANE. 


27 


tcased 
:t  day 
)  heed 
to  the 
course 
u,  my 
angers 
ecially 
ol  and 
is  corn- 
echo  in 
im  with 
had,  in 
d  could 
f  many 
red  her 
occult 
[swering 

ith  her 
could 

bed  the 

letimes 
of  his 

^pings— 
oppor- 

Ing  "with 

>ne  day, 

slip  of 


pnper  and  handed  to  her  the  question — "  Were  you 
ever  in  love  ?  " 

The  young  lady  blushed,  and  wrote  her  reply, 
playfully  bidding  him  "  ask  the  spirits." 

Notes  like  the  following,  received  every  day,  testi- 
fied that  the  writer  kept  her  in  mind. 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Mrs.  Fox.] 

"  Dr.  Kane  will  call  at  three  o'clock  p.m.,  for  the 

purpose  of  accompanying  Mrs.  and  Miss  Fox  upon 

an  afternoon  drive. 
"Renssblasb,  Dec.  7tb,  1862." 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"Dr.  Kane  leaves  for  New  York  on  Monday; 

might  he  ask  Miss  Fox  at  what  hour  she  would  be 

disengaged  before  his  departure  ? 
"GiBABD  Stsebt,  Dec.  lOth,  1852." 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Mies  Fox.] 


"  My  Dear  Miss  Fox : — ^The  day  is  so  beautiful 
that  I  feel  tempted  to  repent  my  indoor  imprison- 
ment.    If  you  will  do  me  the  kindness  to  change 


28 


LOVE-LIFE   OF  DR.    KANE. 


your  own  mind,  and  take  a  quiet  drive,  I  will  call  for 
you  at  your  own  hour. 

"  With  respect,  very  faithfully  your  servant, 

"  E.  K.  Kane. 

"Phila.,  Dec.  12th,  1852." 


In  the  following  note  to  Mrs.  Fox,  Dr.  Kane  refers 
to  Miss  Katharine  Fox,  then  at  school  in  New  York, 
and  residing  with  a  lady  medium — a  relative,  whose 
"establishment"  for  spiritual  manifestations  was  in 
Twenty-sixth  Street : 


I  f 

I 


[Dr.  Kaae  to  Mrs.  Fox.] 

"  My  Deak  Madam  : — I  left  New  York  this 
morning,  and  return  again  to-morrow.  If  you  have 
any  messages  to  send  to  your  daughter,  I  should  be 
happy  to  convey  them,  as  I  take  a  large  party  of  my 
lady  friends  on  Saturday  to  her  establishment. 

"  I  will  call  between  five  and  six  o'clock  this  after- 
noon. 

"  I  could  not  resist  the  temptation  of  sending  the 
accompanying  little  trifle  of  ermine,  for  Miss  Marga- 
retta's  throat.  As  I  know  you  to  be  carefully  fasti- 
dious as  to  forms,  permit  me  to  place  it  in  your 
hands. 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.    KANE. 


29 


"Pray  pardon  the  pocket-worn  condition  of  the 
enclosed  note. 

"Very  faithfully  your  oVt'serv^ 

"  E.  K.  Kane. 

•'GiBARD  Stbeet,  Dec.  18th,  18B2." 


Not  very  long  after  his  first  visit,  Dr.  Kane  brought 
his  favorite  cousin,  Mrs.  Patterson — a  very  lovely 
woman — to  see  Miss  Fox.  A  day  or  two  afterwards 
Mrs.  Fox  received  this  note. 

[I)r.  Kane  to  Mrs.  Fox.] 

"  My  Dear  Madam  :— The  day  is  so  beautiful  that 
I  will  call  with  Mrs.  Patterson,  at  half-past  two,  in 
hopes  of  persuading  Miss  Margaret  to  take  the  vacant 
place  in  her  carriage. 
"  Tell  Miss  Maggie  to  dress  warmly. 

"  Faithfully  your  ob't  serv'nt, 

"  E.  K.  Kane. 

"Mrs.  Fox." 


These  are  but  few  notes  among  very  many  of  the 
same  kind. 

One  day  while  sitting  near  the  table  where  there 
was  a  circle.  Dr.  Kane  wrote  the  following  lines,  and 
handed  them  to  the  young  medium. 


80 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


« 


A  PROPHECY. 


"  Now  thy  long  day's  work  is  o'er, 
Fold  thine  arms  across  thy  breast ; 
Weary  !  weary  is  the  life 
By  cold  deceit  oppressed. 


"  Thee  shall  harrowing  care  and  sorrow 
Fret,  while  journeying  to  the  tomb ; 
Triumph  lasts  not  till  the  morrow ; 
Beauty  shall  feast  the  worm. 
Dreary,  dreary,  ever  dreary, 
Sad  and  same — and  ever  weary ; 
Dreary  too,  from  night  to  morn, 
Thou  shalt  live  and  die  forlorn." 


Some  time  afterwards  Mrs.  A)x  expected  her 
youngest  daughter  from  New  York.  She  received 
the  following  note  frpm  Dr.  Kane  in  relation  to  that 
young  lady's  expected  journey. 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Mn.  Fox.] 

**  My  Dear  Madam  :^It  has  just  occurred  to  me 
that  your  daughter  would  have  to  change  from  cars 
to  steamboat  at  Camden  or  Taconey.  This  would 
not  be  very  pleasant  to  a  young  lady  unaccompanied 
by  a  friend.  If,  therefore,  you  will  send  me  word 
when  your  telegraph  arrives,  I  will  be  happy  to  meet 


LOVE-LIFK  OF   DR.   KANK. 


81 


Miss  Kate  on  the  boat  and  give  her  the  aid  of  my 
escort. 

"  Very  faithfully  your  ob't  servant, 

"E.  K.  Kane. 

"GiBJiRD  St.,  Jan.  10th,  10  a.il 
"  Mrs.  Fox,  Philadelphia." 

Such  notes  as  the  next  would  accompany  some 
little  present. 


[Dr.  KAoe  to  tin.  Fox.] 

"  My  Dear  Madam  : — Although  I  am  still  skep- 
tical as  to  our  friends  in  the  other  country,  I  am  a 
firm  believer  in  my  friends  in  this.  As  such,  know- 
ing that  we  must  soon  part,  I  have  taken  the  liberty 
of  presenting  to  Miss  Margaret  a  little  memento  of 
our  short  acquaintance.  May  I  ask  you  to  accept 
also  of  the  accompanying  trifle  from 

"  Your  ob't  serv't, 

"  E.  K.  Kane. 

"Jan.  12th,  1853. 
"Mrs.  Fox." 

The  few  notes  quoted  above  will  serve  to  show  the 
early  relations  of  the  parties. 

One  day,  after  the  company  had  retired.  Dr.  Kane, 
who  had  now  established  himself  on  the  footing  of  a 
friend,  lingered  in  the  parlor,  and  drawing  Miss  Fox 
aside,  conversed  with  her  in  a  low  tone,  while  her 


i'  !l;i, 


32 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


mother  was  occupied  in  some  other  part  of  the  rooms. 
He  again  spoke  of  the  melancholy  way  in  which  she 
was  living — pursuing  a  calling  which  the  world 
thought  ambiguous  at  least,  and  deplored  the  fact 
that  deceit  was  generally  attributed  to  those  who 
engaged  in  such  matters.  He  reminded  her  that  she 
was  fitted  by  nature  for  better  things :  for  the  highest 
destiny  of  woman.  He  asiced  earnestly  if  she  would 
be  willing  to  quit  for  ever  her  present  life,  and  devote 
herself  to  acquiring  an  education,  with  such  habits  as 
would  efface  the  memory  of  the  past,  and  fit  her  for 
an  entirely  different  sphere.  "  And  when  you  are 
thus  changed,  Maggie,"  he  said,  "  I  shall  be  proud  to 
make  you  my  wife.  Can  you  resolve  to  leave  all 
that  surrounds  you — with  that  end  in  view ;  to  begin 
your  life  over  again ;  to  forget  the  past,  and  think 
only  how  you  may  become  worthy  of  one  whose 
existence  shall  be  devoted  to  you  ?  " 

The  young  girl  answered  that  she  could. 

But  Dr.  Kane  saw  that  the  regard  he  had  been 
able  to  inspire  was  not  as  deep  as  his  own  love ;  how 
could  it  be,  in  one  less  than  half  his  own  age  I  He 
wished  to  see  her  less  of  the  child,  and  more  of  the 
woman. 

"  Are  you  able  to  feel,  Maggie,"  he  said,  "  how 
sacred,  how  binding,  is  a  promise  of  this  kind  ?  It 
is  a  plighting  of  your  troth  :  a  solemn  surrender  of 
yourself — ^heart,  soul,  and  life — to  another.  Do  you 
feel  that  it  is  so  ?      Think  long  and  deeply  upon  it, 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


33 


and  make  no  promise  rashly  ;  for  once  made,  it  must 
be  inviolable  for  life.  You  must  not  engage  your- 
self to  be  my  wife  unless  you  can  give  me  all  your 
love — your  whole  heart ;  unless  you  can  sacrifice  for 
me  all  other  anticipations  and  prospects." 

Much  more  he  said  on  the  subject,  and  gave  a  his- 
tory of  his  own  past  life.;  a  brief  and  barren  history, 
so  far  as  matters  of  the  heart  were  concerned.  He 
told  her  that  his  father  had  wished  to  see  him  united 
to  a  lady  who  possessed  wealth,  but  had  no  attractions 
to  fetter  his  love ;  and  that  he  had  heretofore  been 
willing  to  give  up  his  own  inclinations  in  compliance 
with  the  wish  of  one  to  whom  he  owed  obedience. 
But  now  the  case  was  entirely  altered.  He  loved  for 
the  first  time  in  his  life ;  he  loved  deeply,  ardently, 
and  so  long  as  the  object  of  his  love  continued  worthy 
of  it,  his  affection  would  be  unchanged.  He  could 
not  now  bestow  his  hand  where  his  heart  could  not 
be  given.  He  would  immediately  release  himself  from 
any  supposed  obligation  on  his  part  to  do  so.    He 

would  inform  his  father  that  his  union  with  Miss 

was  an  utter  impossibility.  Thus  he  was  free  to 
pledge  himself  to  the  bright  and  blooming  and  guile- 
less young  creature  whose  sweet  dark  eyes  had  capti- 
vated him,  and  who  alone  should  be  his  in  the  most 
sacred  of  all  ties,  when  she  had  set  herself  free  from 
trammels  of  another  kind.  Margaret  listened  to  all 
this,  and  accepted  the  vows  of  the  lover  to  whom  she 
looked  up  with  admiration  and  respect,  and  with 


84 


LOVE-LIPE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


ill 


growing  regard.  It  is  manifest,  however,  that  she 
felt  as  yet  none  of  the  impassioned  fervor  that  marked 
his  attachment  to  her.     She  was  still  a  child  in  heart. 

Immediately  after  this  memorable  interview  the 
tea-bell  rang,  and  the  young  lady,  fluttering  with  her 
new  happiness,  was  summoned  to  take  her  usual 
place  next  her  mother.  It  may  well  be  supposed 
that  she  did  not  much  justice  to  the  viands  on  this 
occasion;  but  she  found  opportunity  to  whisper  to 
her  mother — "  I  have  great  news  to  tell  you."  The 
secret  was  communicated  in  their  own  room. 

Mrs.  Fox  of  course  could  not  be  insensible  to  the 
advantages,  to  her  daughter  at  least,  of  the  alliance 
proffered ;  but  she  knew  Dr.  Kane  could  not  marry 
till  his  return  from  the  Arctic  seas ;  that  he  was  even 
then  making  preparations  for  the  expedition,  and  that 
it  must  be  uncertain  whether  he  ever  would  return. 
She  did  not  wish  to  part  with  her  daughter,  in  view 
of  these  contingencies,  for  the  present,  and  was  not 
quite  willing  to  place  her  immediately  at  school,  as 
Dr.  Kane  wished.  He  had  many  long  and  earnest 
conversations  with  her,  before  he  could  bring  her  to 
think  of  a  separation. 

Some  time  after  Dr.  Kane's  declaration  of  his 
attachment,  one  of  the  visitors  to  the  "  spirits  "  said 
to  Miss  Fox,  "  Do  you  know  that  gentleman  who  is 
so  constant  an  attendant  on  your  levees  ?  It  is  the 
great  Dr.  Kane." 

Margaret  was  familiar  with  his  name,  of  course, 


LOVE-LIFE  OF   DR.   KANE. 


35 


by  this  time ;  but  not  having  the  least  knowledge  of  his 
past  life  or  his  achievements,  she  was  utterly  ignorant 
of  his  "  greatness."  This  may  serve  to  prove  that 
worldly  ambition  had  no  share  in  the  favor  with 
which  she  regarded  his  suit.  She  knew  that  he  was 
not  wealthy ;  in  that  respect,  and  in  the  distinction 
derived  from  fashionable  accomplishments  and  sur- 
roundings, he  was  inferior  to  many  gentlemen  whom 
she  saw  every  day.  It  was  his  frankness  and  sin- 
cerity, and  his  brotherly  tenderness  for  her  interests, 
that  first  attracted  her  regard.  She  knew  him  to  be 
in  the  right  in  his  views  of  the  life  she  was  then 
submitting  to,  and  secretly  longed  for  deliverance, 
that  she  might  enter  the  gates  of  that  new  existence 
he  had  pointed  out  as  alone  worthy  of  her  powers. 

Dr.  Kane  often  invited  her  to  take  drives  with 
him,  always  in  the  company  of  some  older  lady,  for 
he  dreaded  the  tongue  of  rumor  or  scandal,  and  was 
as  anxious  to  protect  her  fair  name  as  if  she  had  been 
his  own  sister.  Mrs.  Patterson  frequently  accom- 
panied them  on  these  excursions.  The  drives  around 
Philadelphia  are  very  beautiful,  and  the  young  lady 
greatly  enjoyed  seeing  so  many  new  objects  of  inte- 
rest. She  had  a  very  charming  way  of  expressing 
her  delight  in  novel  and  striking  scenes;  it  was  so 
ingenuous,  so  sweet,  unstudied  and  child-like ;  so 
sparkling  and  irrepressible,  yet  so  marked  by  a  mo- 
desty that  was  almost  timidity.  It  was  the  buoyant 
glee  of  a  child,  held  \n  check  but  not  dashed  by  the 


r 


36 


LOVE-LIPE   OP  DR.    KANE. 


I 


liill .':  'I'l 


m  '■: 


fear  of  breaking  bounds,  and  possibly  giving  oiBfence. 
In  her  most  joyous  moments  her  clear  eyes  at  once 
sought  sympathy,  and  seemed  to  ask  if  the  joy  might 
be  indulged.  Perhaps  the  continual  necessity  of 
practising  self  control,  which  her  professional  life 
imposed  on  her,  was  the  cause  of  this  peculiarity  of 
manner.  Her  nature  was  impulsive,  often  impetuous, 
though  so  in  all  gentleness  and  sweetness ;  her  emo- 
tions had  ever  been  those  of  happiness  only  ;  still,  she 
had  learned  self-command  from  being  frequently  in 
the  presence  of  persons  uncongenial  to  her,  and  the 
blending  of  this  habit  of  reticence  with  a  natural 
gaiety  which  almost  defied  restraint,  made  her,  as  Dr. 
Kane  expresses  it  in  one  of  his  letters,  "a  curious 
study."  He  appears  to  have  endeavored  to  awaken 
in  her  a  love  for  the  beauty  of  natural  scenery,  as  well 
as  the  treasures  of  literature.  Meanwhile  her  duties 
at  "  the  spiritual  rooms"  continued  to  occupy  much  of 
her  time. 

On  one  occasion  the  lovers  went  with  a  party  to 
Laurel  Hill  Cemetery.  Miss  Fox  slipped  at  the 
entrance,  and  Dr.  Kane  expressed  his  regret  at  such 
an  accident,  saying  he  was  slightly  superstitious,  and 
"  would  not  for  the  world  it  had  happened."  Leading 
her  to  the  family  vault  of  the  Kanes,  which  was  then 
unfinished,  he  knocked  on  the  iron  door  and  repeated 
the  lines  from  Longfellow's  "  Psalm  of  Life :" 


sermon.     J 


.«* 


m 


■i' 


LOVE-LIFE   OP  DR.    KANE. 


37 


'*  Art  is  long,  and  time  is  fleeting ; 
And  our  hearts,  though  stout  and  brave, 
Still,  like  muffled  drums,  are  beating 
Funeral  marches  to  the  grave." 

Adding,  "  Here,  Margaret,  will  be  your  last  resting- 
place  1"  He  then  spoke  with  deep  feeling  of  "  Willie," 
his  deceased  brother,  who  had  suffered  much  in  the 
delirium  of  his  last  illness ;  an^  added,  "  Maggie,  you 
are  a  godsend  to  me,"  ^^s  another  worthy  object  of 
affection  to  fill  the  place  of  the  lost  one.  They  walked 
about  and  looked  at  the  finest  monuments  in  the 
cemetery. 

Every  place  worth  visiting  in  or  around  Philadel- 
phia was  shown  by  Dr.  Kane  to  his  betrothed.  On 
one  occasion  Dr.  and  Mi*8.  Patterson  accompanied 
them  to  the  fa  ily  country-seat,  "  Eensselaer,"  now 
"  Fern  Eock."  When  Dr.  Kane  stepped  out  of  the 
carriage  Mrs.  Patterson  whispered,  "  Miss  Fox,  Elisha 
loves  you;  I  can  see*  that  I"  After  the  ladies  alighted 
Dr.  Kane  gave  his  arm  to  Margaret  and  led  her 
around  the  grounds,  stopping  at  one  of  the  tenants' 
houses  a  few  moments  to  view  some  curiosity.  Or. 
their  return,  when  they  would  pass  a  church.  Dr. 
Kane  would  sportively  propose  to  go  in  and  preach  a 
sermon.  From  this,  and  his  habit  of  telling  his  lady- 
Icvf^  of  any  fault  he  observed,  she  playfully  called 
him  "  preacher ;"  a  sobriquet  he  affixed  to  many  of 
his  letters. 

While  they  were  in  the  carriage  Dr.  Kane  took 


38 


LOVE-LIFE   OP  DR.   KANE. 


it-        ■! 

; ;       ■  i 

'         ill 

Hi        'IP 

hold  of  Mrs.  Patterson's  hand,  pulled  down  the  glove, 
and  showed  Miss  Fox  a  beautiful  ring  set  in  black 
enamel.  After  taking  home  that  lady  and  her  hus- 
band he  accompanied  Margaret  to  her  hotel,  and  when 
they  entered  her  parlor,  snatched  her  ermine  and  muff, 
and  came  stepping  daintily  in  with,  "Here  comes 
Johnny  with  the  tea-things  I"  He  remained  to  spend 
the  evening,  and  the  next  day  brought  three  rings 
for  his  lady-love's  selection  of  one.  Putting  aside  a 
splendid  diamond  set  in  pearls,  she  accepted  one  set  in 
black  enamel  and  wore  it  as  her  "  engagement  ring," 

On  another  drive  they  passed  the  Girard  House  at 
an  hour  when  the  windows  were  crowded ;  yet,  not- 
withstanding this.  Dr.  Kane  insisted  on  stopping  in 
front  of  it  to  show  its  magnificence,  while  he  bowed 
to  his  acquaintances  as  if  proud  of  the  beqiutiful  girl 
by  his  side.  He  had  good  sense  enough  to  separate 
her  from  the  profession  it  was  still  her  fate  to  exer- 
cise; and  at  this  time  the  rappings  were  not  so  unpo- 
pular as  they  became  afterwards. 

Sometimes  ladies  of  his  acquaintance  came  to  the 
sittings,  who  used  very  learned  language — unintelli- 
gible, of  course,  to  the  medium.  Dr.  Kane  always 
amused  himself  with  their  affectation,  laughing  hear- 
tily when  they  were  gone.  One  of  them,  an  old 
friend  of  his,  once  leaned  her  arm  on  the  back  of  his 
chair,  when  he  immediately  rose  and  begged  her  to 
be  seated.  His  sensibility  to  decorum  in  social  inter- 
course was  very  acute.    He  never  failed  to  reprove 


LOVE-LIFK  OF  DR.   KAN2. 


39 


Margaret  for  any  piece  of  carelessness,  however  tri- 
vial, and  sometimes  gave  her  a  lecture  on  the  manners 
of  young  ladies.  He  belonged,  in  fact,  to  the  old 
school,  and  held  chivalrously  sacred  the  delicacy  of 
the  fair  sex.  At  one  of  the  sittings  an  elderly  fool 
asked  if  "  the  spirit  of  St.  Paul  was  present !"  Dr. 
Kane  instantly  took  Miss  Fox  by  the  arm  and  led  her 
out  of  the  room.  He  did  not  choose  to  permit  such 
irreverence  in  her  presence. 

On  one  of  their  drives  they  stopped  at  a  country 
inn,  and  the  landlord  was  introduced  by  Dr.  Kane  to 
Miss  Fox  as  "  the  future  Mrs.  Kane."  This  was  done 
also  in  Washington  to  the  lady  of  theirboarding-house. 

Many  times  the  Doctor  said  to  Mrs.  and  Miss  Fox, 
that  he  regretted  that  his  family  were  in  the  bustle 
of  a  removal,  otherwise  the  ladies  would  be  invited 
to  visit  at  his  father's  house.  He  did  not  appear  to 
entertain,  at  that  time,  any  doubt  that  his  friends 
would  be  received  with  welcome  by  his  relatives. 
About  this  time  he  wrote  the  following  verses,  which 
expressed  a  disquiet  daily  increasing  in  his  mind. 
The  "  sinful  art "  referred  to  is  of  course  the  rappings. 

"A  STORY. 
"  Thoughts  lohich  ought  to  be  those  of  Maggie  Fox, 

I. 
"  Once  a  raaiden  sat  and  thought, 
Her  hand  upon  her  brow ; 
*  Tell  me,  conscience,  have  I  sought 
,      The  life  that  greets  me  now  ? 


''iM 


40 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.    KANE. 


Dreary,  dreary,  dreary, 

Passes  life  away, — 
Dreary,  ever  dreary, 
The  day 
Glides  on,  and  weary 

Is  my  hypociisy. 

n. 

"  *  I  wish  I  was  a  laughing  girl 
Before  my  father's  door, 
As  merry  as  the  sunbeams 

That  danced  upon  the  floor. 
As  happy  as  the  running  stream 

Beneath  the  moss-grown  trees ; 
And  frw  as  fly  the  swallows 
Upon  the  evening  breeze  1 

When  I  was  happy,  happy, 
Loving  the  livelong  day  : 
Happy  as  the  kisses 

That  chased  my  tears  away. 
Happy  as  the  hopes 

"Which  filled  my  trusting  heart, 
Before  I  knew  a  sinful  wish, 
Or  learned  a  sinful  art.' 

in. 

"  Then  the  maiden  sat  and  wept, 

Her  hand  upon  her  brow ; 
'  So  long  this  secret  have  I  kept, 
I  can't  forswear  it  now. 
It  festers  in  my  bosom. 

It  cankers  in  my  heart, 
Thrice  cursed  is  the  slave  fast  chained 
To  a  deceitful  art! 


LOVE-LIFE  OP  DR.   KANE. 


41 


Dreary,  dreary,  dreary, 
The  parish  sunbeams  play ; 

Dreary,  ever  dreary, 
The  day 

Glides  on,  and  weary 
Passes  my  life  away.' 


IV. 

"  Then  the  maiden  knelt  and  prayed : — 
*  Father,  my  anguish  see ; 
Oh,  give  me  but  one  trusting  hope 

Whose  heart  will  shelter  me. 
One  trusting  love  to  share  my  griefs, 

To  snatch  me  from  a  life  forlorn ; 
That  I  may  never,  never,  never 
Thus  endlessly  from  night  to  mom, 
Say  that  my  life  is  dreary 

With  its  hypocrisy  ; 
Dreary,  ever  dreary. 
The  day 
•  Glides  on,  and  weary 

Passes  my  life  away.* 

"  Preacher." 


42 


LOVE-LIFE  OF   DR.   KANE. 


)  !  ' 


11.  • 

Dr.  Kane  very  often  conversed  with  Mrs.  Fox  upon 
his  affairs ;  the  duty  before  him  of  going  to  search  for 
Sir  John  Franklin,  the  impossibility  of  his  marriage 
before  '  is  return,  and  his  desire  that  Margaret  should 
complete  her  education  before  that  event  took  place ; 
"  She  must  be  fitted,"  he  would  say,  "  to  occupy  a 
high  position  in  society."  He  believed  her  natural 
abilities  sufficient ;  and  he  required  that  she  should 
cultivate  them,  and  acquire  all  those  ladylike  accom- 
plishments he  had  a  right  to  expect  that  his  wife 
should  possess. 

Above  all  things,  he  desired  to  have  her  removed 
from  the  peril  of  daily  association  with  the  miscella- 
neous crowd  who  attended  the  spiritual  sittings.  Even 
the  presence  of.such  persons  was  dangerous  to  the  deli- 
cacy with  which  nature  had  so  richly  endowed  Mar- 
garet ;  how  long  could  it  hold  out  agaiast  daily  con- 
versation with  them  I  On  this  point  lie  spoke  very 
frequently  and  with  deep  feeling. 

Books,  and  music,  and  flowers — the  richest  and 
rarest — were  sent  and  brought  by  Dr.  Kane  every 
day,  and  sometimes  several  times  a  day,  to  the  object 
of  his  affection.  Or^pe,  presenting  her  with  a  camel- 
lia, he  said,  "Like  you,  it  must  not  be  breathed 
upon."     His  attentions  by  this  time — with  all  his 


LOVE-LIFE  OF   DR.    KANE. 


43 


precautions — could  not  fail  to  be  noticed  in  Phila- 
delphia. Miss  Fox  always  took  his  arm  in  their 
walks,  which  a  young  lady  rarely  does  unlcas 
engaged  to  the  gen  tleman ;  and  the  question, — 
"  'Lish',  what  pretty  girl  was  that  driving — or  walking 
— with  you?"  became  of  almost  every  day  occurrence. 
The  letters  received  from  Lady  Franklin  by  Dr. 
Kane,  were  sent  for  Margaret  to  read.  On  one  occa- 
sion, referred  to  in  the  following  letter,  he  sent  his 
brother  John  to  bring  them  back.  He  was  to  wait 
upon  the  young  lady  in  the  spiritual  circle;  hence 
the  cautions  given. 


^ 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  Wrap  my  letters  up  carefully  and  give  them  to 
this  young  gentleman.  Do  write  me  a  long  answer, 
Maggie,  giving  me  all  the  news. 

"I  tell  you  in  confidence  (do  not  mention  it  to 
him)  that  he  is  my  brother,  and  he  thinks  the  package 
of  letters  relates  to  Sir  John  Franklin  and  the  *  spi- 
rits.' If  you  have  company  he  will  not  introduce 
himself.  If  your  mother  has  come,  lie  will  make  her 
acquaintance.  .  (     . 

"I  was  unwilling  to  call  upon  you  to-night  for 
fear  of  talk ;  but  I  told  my  brother  if  you  had  com- 
pany to  show  my  ring,  so  as  to  avoid  mentioning 
names.  Do  not  let  him  suppose  that  you  have  any- 
thing more  than  mere  spirit  business  with  me.  I  say 
this  on  your  own  account. 


' 


44 


LOVE-LIFE   OF   DR.    KANE. 


"You  have  a  fine  chance  of  mailing  my  brother 

tell  you  all  about  L ,  that  interesting  lady  who  is  a 

candidate  for  matrimony. 

"  Dear  Maggie,  I  feared  you  would  be  lonely  ;  so  I 
sent  down  my  favorite  brother  to  you,  in  all  this 
snow  and  rain.  Nothing  but  my  real  love  for  you 
keeps  me  from  coming." 


They  often  carried  on  a  little  private  correspondence 
when  Mrs.  Fox  was  present.  Slips  like  these  would 
be  handed  to  Margaret  as  "  questions,"  by  the  Doctor. 

"  But  I  fear  that  you  will  not  write  to  me  letters 
of  Zcwe." 

"  I  will  return  if  possible ;  if  not,  good-bye.  When 
this  party  leave,  raise  both  window-curtains." 

"  Write  to  me  this  evening,  to  Delmonico's,  New 
York ;  telling  me  your  movements." 

"Good-bye." 


The  peculiar  signature  of  the  following  letter  is 
worthy  of  attention,  as  intended  to  show  the  writer's 
independence  of  "  Mrs.  Grundy." 


LOy£-LIF£  OF  DR.   KANE. 


45 


tea; 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"Thank  you,  dear  Maggie,  for  your  kin^ 
I  have  rode  in  this  cold  wind  nearly  cightec 
but  this  afternoon  shall  see  me  in  your  comp..  j . 

"  What  say  you  to  to-morrow  for  our  holiday  ? 
Ask  your  mother.  Do  not  be  afraid  of  'thinking 
too  much '  of  me.  For  even  if  the  drear  old  Polar 
winter  should  make  me  a  perpetual  exile,  the  memory 
of  a  dead  affection  would  be  better  than  a  recollected 
coolness. 

"If  you  think  me  afraid  of  letters,  here  is  my 
contradiction. 

E.  K.  KANE! 
U.  S.  Navy  1 1 

No.  86  Girard  St  1 1 1 
Philadelphia  1 1 1 1 


Here  is  the  reply  of  Miss  Fox: 


[Miss  Fox  to  Dr.  Ean«  ] 

"  I  am  delighted,  my  dear  friend,  to  know  that  I 
will  have  the  pleasure  of  your  company  this  eve- 
ning. 

"  But  I  fear  you  will  be  too  much  fatigued  to  ride, 
—will  you  not  ? 


'M. 


46> 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


"  Now,  Doctor — be  candid  I — am  I  not  correct  when 
I  say  you  are  an  enigma  past  finding  out  ? 

"  You  know  I  am.     Many  thanks  for  the  music. 

"  Yours  very  truly, 

"  Maggie. 

"Stoidat  MOENINO,  Januair,  1853." 


The  following  missive  harps  again  on  the  theme 
that  so  often  caused  complaint : 

[Dr.  Kano  to  Miss  For.] 

"  I  have  received  your  excellent  letter,  dear  Mag- 
gie, and  I  need  hardly  say  am  gratified  to  find  that 
you  write  so  ably.  You  have  more  brain  than  I 
gave  you  credit  for. 

"  My  parlor  is  full  of  gentlemen,  and  I  cannot  get 
.away  from  New  York  to-day.  I  will,  however,  go 
to-night  to  New  Brunswick,  and  hire  a  coach  on  to 
Trenton,  bO  as  to  re^ch  you  by  one  o'clock  of  Sun- 
day. This  great  eflfort  will  show  you  how  much  I 
regard  your  wishes.  There  is  nothing  that  y^u  can 
ask,  that,  if  in  my  power,  I  would  not  give. 

"  Look  at  the  Herald  of  this  morning.  There  is 
an  account  of  a  suicide  which  causes  some  excite- 
ment. Your  sister's  name  is  mentioned  in  the  inquest 
of  the  coroner.     Oh,  how  much  I  wish  that  you 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


47 


would  quit  this  life  of  drear*  sameness  and  suspected 
deceit.  We  live  in  this  wofld  only  for  the  opinions 
of  the  good  and  noble.  How  crushing  it  must  be  to 
occupy  with  them  a  position  of  ambiguous  respect  I 

"  I  will  not  deliver  the  kiss.  Such  follies  I  confine 
to  those  for  whom  I  have  something  more  than  my 
lips.    I  don't  kiss  everybody,  Miss  Maggie  I 

"  I  must  stop. 

'       »  Good-bye  I 
"  Saturday,  1  p.m." 


Here  is  a  missive  indicating  some  faltering  of  pur- 
pose, but  it  hardly  amounted  to  anything. 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  I  cannot  get  away  from  New  York,  nor  see  you 
on  Saturday.  I  wrote  by  mail  to  tell  you  of  this 
unlocked  for  detention ;  but  fearing  that  the  letter 
will  not  reach  you,  I  send  another  by  a  private  mes- 
senger. 

"  As  soon  as  my  time  is  free,  I  will  hire  a  carriage 
to  New  Brunswick,  and  perhaps  be  able  to  reach 
Philadelphia  in  time  for  a  Sunday  afternoon's  ride. 
Maggie,  do  you  think  many  friends  would  take  all 
this  trouble  for  you  ?    Never  doubt  me  any  more. 

"Your  letter  surprised  me.    I  had  no  idea  you 


48 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


wrote  or  thought  so  well  and  ably.  Indeed,  you 
were  born  for  better  things  than  the  annoyances  of 
your  present  career. 

"  You  say  '  that  you  do  not  understand  me' — *  I 
am  a  riddle ' — *  an  enigma,'  and  all  that  nonsense. 
Dear  Maggie,  you  understand  me  very  well.  You 
know  that  I  am  a  poor,  weak,  easily  deceived  man, 
and  you  think  that  you  are  an  astute,  hardly  seen- 
through  woman,  managing  me  as  you  please.  Now 
tell  me  the  truth — don't  you  ? 

"  If  you  do,  you  are  half  right  and  half  wrong.  I 
am  a  man  rather  of  facts  and  stem  purposes,  than  of 
woman  thoughts  and  dreamy  indolence.  My  life  is 
only  commencing  as  far  as  regards  the  weary  road 
ahead  of  me,  and,  if  Providence  prolongs  it,  I  will 
leave  after  me  a  name  and  a  success. 

"  But  with  all  this,  I  am  a  weak  man  and  a  fool ; 
weak,  that  I  should  be  caught  in  the  midst  of  my 
grave  purposes  by  the  gilded  dust  of  a  butterfly's 
wing ;  and  a  fool  because,  while  thus  caught,  I  smear 
my  fingers  with  the  perishable  color. 

"Maggie,  dear,  you  have  many  traits  which  lift 
you  above  your  calling.  You  are  refined  and  love- 
able;  and,  with  a  different  education,  would  have 
been  innocent  and  artless ;  but  you  are  not  worthy  of 
a  permanent  regard  from  me.  You  could  never  lift 
yourself  up  to  my  thoughts  and  my  objects ;  /  could 
never  bring  myself  down  to  yours.  This  is  speaking 
very  plainly  to  my  dear  confiding  little  friend  Maggie 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


49 


Fox,  who  sometimes  thinks  she  loves  me  more  than  a 
friend.  But  Maggie,  darling,  don't  care  for  me  any- 
more. I  love  you  too  well  to  wish  it,  and  you  know 
now  that  I  really  am  sold  to  different  destinies ;  for 
just  as  you  have  your  wearisome  round  of  daily 
money-making,  I  have  my  own  sad  vanities  to  pursue. 
I  am  as  devoted  to  my  calling  as  you,  poor  child,  can 
be  to  yours.  Eemember  then,  as  a  sort  of  dream, 
that  Doctor  Kane  of  the  Arctic  Seas  loved  Maggie 
Fox  of  the  Spirit  Eappings." 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  I  will  see  you,  if  time  or  money  can  achieve  it,  by 
Sunday  at  one  or  two  o'clock ;  you  will  ride  with  me. 

"  Answer  to  Girard  street,  as  I  will  go  there  first 
if  I  get  back,  dear  Maggie,  and  we  will  talk  the  thing 
over. 

*'  The  Herald  will  tell  you  of  this  horrid  self-murder. 
How  disgusting  that  the  name  of  the  sister  of  my 
friend  should  appear  thus  in  newspaper  print ! 

"  I  send  you  the  '  Haunted  Ground.'  It  haunts  me 
to  see  you  perched  over  a  twopenny  song  with  *  Mar- 
garetta '  in  great  big  print  underneath  you. 

"  Maggie,  will  you  promise  me  not  to  say  anything 
of  this  letter  to  your  mother  until  you  see  me  ?  Not 
one  word ;  I  have  reasons  for  it.     But  write  at  once, 

3 


n 


50 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


that  is,  by  ten  or  before  of  Sunday  morning,  saying 
if  I  can  see  you  by  two  o'clock,  and  if  you  think  you 

can  ride.     If  you  say  so  I  will  bring  Mrs. to 

prevent  any  doubts  with  your  excellent  mother.    I 
always  want  to  treat  you  both  with  respect." 


■! 

Ill 

1 
i' 

Ir 

ii:  , 
.1 

'i: 


Before  the  engagement,  when  Dr.  Kane  called  to 
pay  his  respects  on  New  Y  ear's  day.  Miss  Fox  asked 
him  to  walk  into  the  back  room,  a  splendid  apartment 
furnished  with  blue  damask,  to  see  a  cake  that  had 
been  sent  to  them.  The  room  had  r,  bed  in  it.  Dr. 
Kane  drew  back,  and  gave  the  young  lady  a  lecture 
on  the  impropriety  of  inviting  a  gentleman  to  pass 
through  a  sleeping  apartment.  So  scrupulous  was  he 
in  matters  of  etiquette,  and  so  anxious  to  impress  on 
the  young  girl  the  importance  of  fastidious  attentioa 
to  such  things.  • 


% 

J 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


51 


III. 

In  January  Mrs.  Fox  left  Philadelphia  and  went 
with  her  daughters  to  New  York,  where  they  took  up 
their  residence  in  Twenty-Sixth  street.  The  younger 
sister  was  obliged  occasionally  to  sit  in  the  spiritual 
circles,  though  under  the  direction  and  charge  of  ano- 
ther and  older  person,  who  was  also  a  medium  for  the 
"manifestations."  Dr.  Kane  soon  followed  them 
from  Philadelphia. 

The  following  letter  was  sent  during  the  Doctor's 
absence,  while  Miss  Fox  was  in  New  York. 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

Sunday  Nwht. 

"  Maggie  Darling  : — ^Why  do  you  not  write  to 
me  ?  Have  you  forgotten  your  friend  ?  Or  does  your 
new  life  drive  from  you  the  recollection  of  old  times  ? 

"  I  go  to  Baltimore  on  Tuesday,  and  then  to  Wash- 
I  ington  to  see  the  President.  Oh,  dear  Maggie,  when 
I  think  of  you  in  your  humble  calling,  and  of  myself 
with  my  toiling  vanities  and  cares,  I  only  feel  that  I 
am  about  to  leave  you ;  and  feeling  thiS;  how  very, 
[very,  very  much  I  love  you. 

"  I  am  a  fool  for  this,  yet  I  know  that  you  have 
Isome  good  reason  for  not  writing.    Send  me  a  lock 


52 


LOVE-LIFE   OF  DR.   KANE. 


of  your  hair ;  for  unless  it  comes  I  will  not  come  on 
to  see  you. 

"  Kiss  Katy  for  me,  and  tell  her  1  am  your  friend, 
and  therefore  her  own.  If  ever  trouble  presses  his 
cold  hand — colder,  Maggie,  than  the  spirits,  come  to 
your  one  friend,  for  he  alone  has  no  coldness.  Ee- 
member  his  warm  hands,  his  glowing  kisses,  and  his 
steadfast,  trusting  heart ;  and  then  you  cannot  forget 
him. 

"  Write  to  me  how  I  can  see  you  if  I  come  to  New 
York.    How  can  I  meet  you,  dear  Maggie,  away 

from  suspicion,  away  from  Mrs. ?    Do  you  ever 

walk  out  alone  ? 

"  God  bless  yoii  I " 


if  i 


The  "suspicion"  he  feared  was  that  of  spiritualist 
friends,  who  fancied  they  had  f<n  exclusive  right  to 
Maggie's  time  and  attention.  Fear,  too,  of  the  cen- 
sure of  his  friends,  caused  a  wish  for  concealment  j 
evident  in  many  of  his  letters. 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Mrs.  Fox.] 

"WASHiNaTON,  January  2Yth,  1863 

"  My  Dear  Madam  : — I  forward,  by  express, 
copy  of  *  Undine '  for  my  friend  Miss  Maggie. 

"  It  was  my  intention  to  have  been  in  New  Yortl 
by   Saturday ;     but  a  compulsory    engagement  ir  I 


i!P 


LOVE-LIFE   OF  DR.   KANE. 


58 


Washington  detains  me.  I  hope,  howevei,  to  visit 
your  city  in  the  early  part  of  next  week,  and  I  will 
of  course  pay  my  respects  as  soon  as  my  time  per- 
mits. 

"  In  haste,  your  ob't  servant, 

"E.  K.  Kane." 


The  following  is  marked  "  I/etter  No.  2  "  in  the 
Doctor's  handwriting.  Many  letters  preceded  it, 
however.  The  cautious  tone  of  the  latter  part  arose 
from  fears  of  giving  offence  to  Margaret's  hostess, 
who  was  jealous  of  aught  that  drew  her  attention  from 
her  friends. 


[Or.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"Dear  Maggie: — I  have  just  received  your  let- 
ter, for  which  I  thank  you.  But  upon  comparing  it 
with  my  own,  I  confess  that  all  the  warmth  and 
affection  seem  to  be  on  my  side.  You  write  to  me 
entirely  as  to  a  friend — a  kind,  non-committal  letter. 
I  write  as  to  a  lover,  overflowing  with  the  feeling  of 
the  moment.  Do  you  know,  Maggie,  that  I  am  now 
almost  ashamed  to  send  the  letter  which  accompanies 
this? 

"Your  life  must  be  dreary,  dear  darling;  dreary 
with  its  sameness ;  dreary  with  the  mysterious  work- 


!   'i 


f   \^ 


54 


LOVE-LIFE   OF   DR.    KANE. 


ings  of  the  spirit  world.  I  held  up  my  hand  the 
other  night,  just  about  twilight,  in  the  dusk  of  the 
evening.     You  know  what  I  felt  and  saw. 

"  I  miss  you  when  I  look  over  my  crowded  table, 
with  its  books  and  papers.  I  miss  you  when  I  mount 
my  horse  for  one  of  my  wild  rides.  I  miss  you  when 
listening  to  the  empty  nonsense  of  my  fashionable 
friends,  who  think  themselves  so  much  better  than 
yourself.  What  is  it  that  I  miss  in  Maggie  Fox,  that 
I  cannot  find  in  them?  I'll  tell  you.  It  is  not 
beauty,  for  they  are  as  beautiful  as  you.  It  is  not 
kind  words  or  demonstrations,  for  they  go  further 
than  you.  But  it  is  in  that  strange  mixture  of  child 
and  woman,  of  simplicity  and  cunning,  of  passionate 
impulse  and  extreme  self-control,  that  has  made  you 
a  curious  study.  Maggie,  you  are  very  pretty,  very 
childlike,  very  deceitful,  but  to  me  as  readable  as  ray 
grandmother's  Bible. 

"  Write  me  word  by  post  or  by  my  friend,  whether 
you  are  happy,  and  if  I,  your  friend,  can  do  nothing 
for  you.  Walk  out  every  day  alone  or  with  Kate, 
and  then  if  I  should  come  to  New  Yorji,  we  can  easily 
see  each  other  without  exciting  the  suspicions  of 
you  know  who. 

"So  much  do  I  care  for  you,  that  I  am  at  any 
sacrifice  about  to  visit  New  York,  and  that,  too, 
before  the  millennium.  But,  dear  darling,  think  how 
I  am  overwhelmed  with  responsible  duties  I 

"  The  highest  compliment  I  can  pay  you  is  to  tell 


LOVE- LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


65 


jou  what  I  have  before  me,  that  you  may  judge  of 
what  an  effort  it  is  to  see  you.  On  Tuesday,  I  lecture 
before  three  thousand  persons  in  Baltimore ;  on 
Wednesday,  meet  the  great  men  of  Washington  ;  on 
Thursday,  explain  the  Expedition  to  the  scientific 
bodies ;  on  Friday  come  home,  and  on  Saturday — go 
to  my  little  Maggie. 

"  Do  have  a  letter  to  meet  me  in  Philadelphia,  at 
Girard  street,  written  and  sent  off  on  Wednesday 
from  New  York :  stating  how  your  hours  are  filled 
up.  2.  The  names  and  character  and  appearance  of 
the  servants.     3.  Whether  you  can  see  me  at  any 

time  alone.     Had  I  better  call  with  Mr.  on 

Saturday  evening  ?  I  think  not,  for  you  will  be  full 
of  company.     Write  me  word. 

"Maggie,  do  you  know  Satler's  Cosmoramas  in 
Broadway  near  Twelfth  street,  on  the  right  hand  side 
going  down  ?  If  you  and  Kate  will  walk  past  it  at 
exactly  four  o'clock  on  Saturday  afternoon,  I  will  be 
there.  The  cosmoramas  are  a  sort  of  picture  gallery, 
visited  by  the  first  and  best  ladies.  If  you  and  Kate 
do  not  like  to  walk  past,  go  up  into  the  picture-room, 
and  amuse  yourselves  looking  at  the  paintings  until 
you  see  me.  I  will  be  there  at  four  precisely,  and 
wait  till  half-past  four.  You  have  to  pay  twenty-five 
cents  admission,  so  don't  forget  your  purse.  I  will 
bring  a  supply  of  pocket-handkerchiefs. 

"  Write  me  word  if  you  can  do  this,  so  that  I  may 
get  the  letter  on  Friday ;  and  if  anything  goes  wrong, 


66 


LOVE-LIFE   OF   Dli.    KANE. 


a  letter  directed  o  Delmonico's  Hotel  will  reach  me. 
Good-bye." 


Miss  Margaret  had  a  fashion,  it  seems,  of  aJways 
losing  her  handkerchiefs.  Her  reply  to  the  foregoing 
was  as  follows : 

[Miss  Fox  to  Dr.  Kane.] 

"You  will  pardon  me,  my  dear  friend,  for  not 
meeting  you.  Strange,  that  I  should  have  made  such 
a  promise — so  imprudent  I  My  mind  at  that  time 
must  have  been  so  much  upon  *  *  that  I  overlooked 
things  of  far  greater  importance  to  me.  How  must 
it  look  in  your  eyes  (and  surely  I  care  as  much  for 
yo"  as  any  one) ! 

"  The  idea  jeeras  to  me  so  unbecoming.  I  do  not 
care  half  as  much  for  strangers,  or  the  opinion  of 
others,  as  I  do  for  myself.  But  if  you  will  call  here 
1  will  go ;  and  should  be  most  happy  to  do  so,  as  I 
have  no  other  engagement  during  the  day.  Yours 
evermore. 

"  I  send  this  by  my  servant,  but  very  much  fear 
she  will  not  find  you. 

"  Write  on  a  card  or  piece  of  paper ;  then  ring 
the  bell  and  tell  the  servant  to  take  it  to  me.     I  will 


read  it  to  Mrs. 


and  she  will  think  well  of  it. 

"  Maggie.'' 


LOVK-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


67 


Being  in  New  York,  just  on  the  eve  of  another 
journey,  Dr.  Kane  sent  the  following : — 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Mlaa  Fox.] 

"  Dearest  Maggie  : — Do  say  when  I  can  see  you. 
I  leave  for  Boston  to-morrow  at  three  p.m.  to  be  gone 
for  a  week.  Do  write  to  Revere  House.  You  never 
write  to  me,  Maggie.  At  what  hour  may  I  call 
to-morrow  ?" 


The  following  letters  were  written  before  Miss  Fox 
left  New  York  for  Washington. 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  Dear,  dear  Maggie  : — Have  you  ceased  to  care 
for  me  ?  me  whose  devotion  you  now  can  see,  and  of 
whose  true,  steadfast  love  every  fibre  of  your  heart 
assures  you  1 

"I  called  on  you  this  morning  on  my  way  to 
Boston.  Kate  and  your  mother  said  you  were  out ; 
but  ah,  Maggie,  you  forget  my  hand.  Do  you  want 
me  to  cease  my  attentions?  Say  so,  dear  Maggie, 
and  even  if  it  kills  me  I  will  not  annoy  you ;  God 
knows  I  love  you  too  much  to  give  you  pain  or 
trouble. 

"  Maggie,  do  see  me.     Cannot  you  and  Kate  leave 


1 1 


58 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DB.   KANE. 


the  house  at  ten  to-morrow  morning,  turn  to  the  right 
until  you  come  to  the  first  cross  street,  when  upon 
turning  again  to  the  right  you  will  see  me.  Do,  dear 
Maggie,  do  1  You  leave  for  Washington  soon ;  so 
what  can  it  matter  even  if  it  costs  you  a  few  words 
with  *  ^  *f 

"  Tell  Kate  how  much  I  thank  her.     She  is  a  dear 
good  girl ;  show  her  this  letter." 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  Dear  Tutie  : — I  will  send  a  carriage  at  eleven 
o'clock  precisely  for  you  {dear  Maggie)  to  go  to  the 
dressmaker's,  where  I  will  meet  you. 

**  Give  my  compliments  to  your  mother,  and  tell 
her  that,  with  her  permission,  I  should  like  you  and 
your  sister  to  devote  the  rest  of  the  day  to  a  fine  ride 
with  your  friend. 

"  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  buying  you  a  tra- 
velling bonnet,  which  I  will  send  to  you  this  morning. 

"  Your  friend, 

"  E.  K.  Kane." 


LOVK-LIFK  OF  DR.   KANE. 


69 


■"\ 


IV. 

Mre.  Fox  and  her  two  youngest  daughters,  Mar- 
garet and  Katharine,  were  at  Washington  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  winter  on  a  professional  visit.  Governor 
Tallmadge  (the  Governor  of  Wisconsin)  procured 
lodgings  for  them  at  Mrs.  Sullivan's  house,  where 
many  officers  were  accustomed  to  stay. 

Their  first  news  from  the  absent  friend  was  in  the 
telegraphic  despatch,  copied  here  to  illustrate  his 
devotion. 


"Dated  Boston,  Feb.  12th,  1863. 
"  Bec'd  Washington. 

"  To  Miss  Fox,  at  Mrs.  Pullivan'g, 

"  F.  street,  3  doors  west  13th. 

"  Has  your  bonnet  arrived  ?  Telegraph  how  you 
are,  and  how  you  all  like  Washington. 

"  E.  K.  K/JSTE." 

It  was  speedily  followed  by  a  letter. 

On  the  13th  February  Mayor  Seaver  gave  a  dinner 
to  a  party  of  select  friends  at  the  Kevere  House, 
Boston.  Among  the  guests  were  Dr.  Kane  and  Chief 
Justice  Shaw. 

Dr.  Kane  sent  the  bill  of  fare  to  his  friend  with  this 
brief  pote. 

"  Here  is  a  specimen  of  a  good  dinner  to  feast  the 


60 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


eyes  of  my  friend  Miss  Kate.    The  service  was  of 
gold  and  glass." 


With  the  following  letter  from  Boston  Dr.  Kane 
sent  an  extract  from  a  Boston  paper. 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

* 

"Dear  Maggie-friend: — ^Your  telegraph  has 
reached  me,  saying  that  you  have  written,  and  asking 
an  immediate  answer.  It  will  reach  me  to-morrow. 
How  I  long  to  know  what  that  letter  says,  to  see 
whether  it  bears  marks  of  love  and  affection.  I  will 
answer  it  at  once. 

"  How  I  long,  dear  friend,  to  be  with  you  I  My 
illness  has  left  me  thin,  and  weak,  and  wretched ;  but 
there  is  no  rest;  I  must  work  for  my  great  enter- 
prise. 

"  Try,  dear  Maggie,  to  do  your  duty  in  this  world. 
Be  true  to  your  loves ;  be  true  to  yourself;  and  when 
that  rarest  of  God's  gifts,  a  loving  heart,  comes  to  you 
again,  *  grapple  it  with  hooks  of  steeL' 

"  God  bless  you,  Maggie. 

"  P.  S.  —How  disgusting  is  this  life,  to  be  discussed 
by  the  papers  I  I  need  not  be  so  proud,  Maggie,  for 
I  am  no  better  than  the  '  rappera,^ 

"Bead  this: 


MVE-LWB  OF  DR.   KANE. 


61 


"Dr.  Kane's  Lecture  J^Tt,""'  ^'"'-  "'  '«'»• 
ence  assembled  at  the  T  ».f  „  ^  ^^"'^  intelligent  audi- 

Hall,  last  eve„4;  o  tTDr^"  °'^  "^"^-'■'= 
with  profound  attention  and  ^if^f-    ^''^^  ^^'^'^'^ 

one  of  the  most  inter^Sis't:';:  "'If''^"' '° 
a  long  time.    Dr.  Kane'f  „     '^^^."'^  have  heard  for 

public  in  connexion  wrthe'fr  "  '"™''^'  «»  *« 
to  the  Polar  regions  Tnd  t       "'"''"  ^^P^dition' 

Choi.  l.ng„,g,,  Xnufit  ^^""^  ^°-' 
give  interest  to  the  mo,f->        ^  deportment,  would 

•■■^  theme,  on  wShTo  ~i:tr  *°^'°'-  '^^"^ 
speat,  would  command  thTV    •    "^'"  P'*P»''ed  to 

wit;.ut  the  ver,  pTe^ntXtrof  h^°  ^"*^"- 
He  spoke  of  thp  fof  .^^  ^^"^  ^^^^s  manner. 

•^arehes;  andgaveanZ^  V  ^  ^'  *°^  °f  «"oh 
the  Grinnell  ExStfonTn""!"' ^""""^  «^«»<«  of 
'he  long  drift  o?the  Ad  '^  "'^  Particularly  of 
the  ice.  *'  ^'^^^''ce  and  the  Rescue  in 

*-"3s  the  p.,bfble  fete  rs?  71  ''"^"'  ^«  -" 
«-"o'  fail  of  a  crowd  dho„?/°'"  '^^^°^^"-    He 


62 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.    KANE. 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 


"Dearest  Maggie: — After  my  hard  day*s  work 
is  over,  I  come  home  to  my  I  otel  rooms  an4  think 
of  you.  Your  friend  is  hardly  woijked,  for  science 
knows  no  rest  to  its  votaries,  and  my  toil  cannot 
have  an  interruption.  Looking  ahead,  I  see  no  pros- 
pect of  meeting  you  in  Washington  for  at  least  a 
fortnight.  Oh,  Maggie  1  do  you  feel  as  sorry  for  this 
compulsory  absence  as  I  do  ? 

"  My  lectures  here  have  been  most  successful, 
drawing  around  me  aJ^  the  wealth  and  beauty  of  this 
great  city;  but  I  speak  for  humanity,  and  not  for 
money.  When  I  think  of  you,  dear  darling,  wasting 
your  time  and  youth  and  conscience  for  a  few  paltry 
dollars,  and  think  of  the  crowds  who  come  nightly  to 
hear  of  the  wild  stories  of  the  frozen  north,  I  some- 
times feel  that  we  are  not  so  far  removed  after  all. 
My  brain  and  your  body  are  each  the  sources  of 
attraction,  and  I  confess  that  there  is  not  so  much 

difference. 

*  *  *  #  « 

"  For  me,  a  grave  man  of  science  and  hard  labor, 
to  write  thus  to  you,  would  be  thought  very  strange 
by  the  meddling  world ;  1  ^it,  dear  darling  Maggie, 
where  I  love,  /  confide ;  and  where  I  confide,  I  never 
think  of  caution.  Do  be  careful  of  me  and  my  repu- 
tation, for  I  would  die  rather  than  injure  yours. 

"  The  laces  will  come  to  you  by'express ; — one,  an 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


63 


under-handkerchief  of  Hbmion,  with  sleeves  to  match ; 
the  other  of  French  work,  for  morning  wear.  Do  be 
careful  and  dress  well  about  your  neck  and  arms,  for 
I  want  my  Maggie  to  appear  as  a  lady  wherever 
she  is. 

"  One  of  the  very  first  things  that  drew  me  towards 
you,  was  your  ladylike  manner  and  deportment.  A 
little  affectation  about  it,  but  still  very  gentle  and 
quiet,  and  modest,  and  retiring,  as  a  lady's  should  be. 
Keep  up  this,  dear  Maggie,  and  never  indulge  in  any 
spirit  joJces  with  the  Washington  people. 

"  In  fact,  I  would  never  allow  myself  to  be  jocular 
with  *  the  spirits,'  unless  before  '  cousin  Leib '  and 
myself.  People  will  be  suspicious  if  you  do.  Keep 
a  grave  face,  and  decline  replying  to  jesting  questions. 

"  You  have  not  written,  at  least  had  not  up  to 
Monday  night.  I  love  you  too  well  to  complain.  I 
do  all  the  writing,  all  the  talking,  and  I  fear,  all  the 
loving.  Never  yet  have  you  said  upon  paper, — 
'Cousin  Peter,  I  love  you.'  It  is  always  'dear 
friend.'  Very  well; — 'dear  friend.'  Better  that 
than  nothing.     Take  care  1 1 

"When  I  come  on,  Maggie,  we  will  have  nice 
times,  riding  every  day,  and  living  like  old  times  in 
Philadelphia. 

"  Kiss  Katy  for  me ;  tell  her  she  owes  me  a  letter. 
She  is  worth  two  of  you. 

"  Bye  bye. 

"Preacher." 


'( 


f    i 


;.J 


64 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.  KANE. 


■  I 


I  m 


[D"  Kane  to  Miss  £'oz.] 

"  How  does  Washington  come  on  ?  Many  beaux  ? 
Many  believers?  Many  friends?  Answer  these 
questions,  you  wicked  little  Maggie  I 

"Do  you  want  some  advice?  It's  a  very  cheap 
article.  Never  venture  out  in  Washington  except  in 
the  very  best  company.  K  you  can.  get  a  real  gen- 
tleman, grab  him ;  but.  have  nothing  to  do  w'ith  the 
vulgar  members  of  Congress.  If  you  have  not  had 
an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  sights,  wait  tiU  your 
friend  comes ;  he  ha3  ballast  enough  to  steady  you, 
and  is  not  ashamed  to  escort  you  anywhere. 

"  Wear  your  undersleeves  and  spencer  always  when 
you  have  company.  I  sent  a  rich  ladylike  set  for 
morning  wear,  and  another  of  Hon^'ion  lace  for  eve- 
ning occasions.  Do  wear  them,  Maggie,  and  tell 
Kate  that  as  soon  as  I  get  back  to  Philadelphia,  I 
will  send  her  a  real  appliqxde.  My  sister  got  one, 
and  they  are  a  very  rich  chaiacter  of  lace. 

"  I  am  anxious  that  you  two  girls  should  be  well 
dressed ;  in  fact,  dear  Maggie,  you  can  hardly  realize 
how  much  I  care  for  you,  and  how  often  I  think  of 
you. 

Now  that  I  know  you  do  not  love  me,  I  feel 
as  if  I  would  like  to  show  you  how  good,  and  true, 
and  disinterested  a  friend  you  have  lost.  No,  dear 
Maggie,  lost  is  not  the  word ;  you  have  only  lost  a 
lover.    I  will  always  be  your  friend. 


iiii 


I    1 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


65 


"  I  am  very  sick,  and  it  was  only  last  night  that  I 
made  the  discovery  of  not  possessing  your  love.  I 
will  never  hold  up  my  hand  again — for  I  would  rather 
have  remained  in  ignorance ;  but  the  thing  is  done, 
and  can't  be  helped.  I  shall  not  come  to  Washington 
now,  for  I  am  ashamed  to  say  that  I  care  so  much  'br 
you  that  it  would  increase  my  unhappiness.  Good- 
bye, then,  my  still  dear  Maggie,  and  if  there  be  any- 
thing in  my  power  to  give  you,  always  remember 
that  you  have  at  least  one  person  who,  knowing  all, 
cares  for  you  unb..Ifishly  and  truly  for  yourself  alone. 
I  shall  always  be  your  friend,  and  perhaps  you  are 
glad  to  get  rid  of  me  in.  the  other  relation  I 

"  God  bless  you." 


Pr.  Kane  to  Misa  Fox.] 

"  Maggie — I  am  sick — sick  at  the  hotel — sick  with 
hard  work,  and  with  nobody  to  nurse  or  care  for  me. 
You  saw  how  wretchedly  I  looked  when  in  New 
York ;  I  am  far  worse  now,  and  without  any  chance 
of  resting.  Is  i^  any  wonder,  then,  that  I  long  to  be 
with  you,  to  have  again  the  lazy  days,  and  sit  by 
your  side  talking  nonsense  I 

"Is  it  any  wonder  that  I  long  to  look — only  to 
look — at  that  dear  little  deceitful  mouth  of  yours; 
to  feel  your  hair  tumbling  over  my  cheeks,  as  I  write 


l\ 


66 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


:  1 1, 


the  spirit  messages  from  another  world — ow  world, 
Maggie— the  world  of  love  1 

"It  is  Sunday,  and  I  am  just  back  from  a  large 
dinner  party.  To-morrow,  if  I  am  well  enough,  I  lec- 
ture, and  I  fear  will  have  to  stay  throughout  the  week 
in  this  miserable  rainy  town  of  Boston. 

"  Kain — rain — rain  1  When  it  rains  the  lovers  in 
heaven  are  quarrelling.  I  expect  they  quarrel  for 
ever  in  the  Boston  paradise.  Did  ever  Christian  man 
see  such  an  incessant  leaking  from  the  skies  ? 

"  Maggie,  if  I  had  my  way  with  you,  I  would  send 
you  to  school  and  learn  you  to  live  your  life  over 
again.  You  should  forget  the  r — pp — gs  (I  never 
mention  the  name  now),  and  come  out  like  gold  puri- 
fied from  the  furnace ;  a  pure  simple-hearted  trustitig 
girl.  Once  that,  Maggie,  and  you  would  love  me; 
not  the  sort  o^  half-affected  milk  and  water  love  which 
you  now  profess,  but  a  genuine,  confiding  affection. 
Your  eyes  would  be  opened  and  you  would  see  me  as 
I  am.  Seeing  me  as  I  am.  you  would  have  to 
love  me. 

"  Now  to  you  I  am  nothing  but  a  cute,  cunning 
dissembler;  a  sort  of  smart  gentleman  hypocrite, 
never  really  sincere,  and  merely  amusing  himself  with 
a  pretty  face.  This  is  because  you  view  me  with  the 
suspicious,  distrusting  eyes  which  your  short  inter- 
course with  the  world — your  world — has  forced  upon 
you.  You  flatter  yourself  that  this  is  penetration^  and 
that  you  can  read  motives  and  character. 


LOVE-LIPE   OF  DR.    KANE. 


67 


"  i:*oor  girl  I  Take  care  that  you  do  not  lose  the 
only  friend  you  ever  had  in  your  life ;  for  until  you 
look  deeper  you  will  never  hve  me ;  and  unless  you 
love  me  I  will  soon  cease  to  love  you. 

"  Do,  dear  Maggie,  learn  that  my  '  acuteness '  is 
only  the  result  of  the  life  which  in  my  station  I  am 
forced  to  lead.  That  it  covers  a  warm  manly  heart, 
that  I  can  never  say  to  you  an  untrue  word.  That  in 
trouble  I  would  be  your  refuge,  in  joy  your  sympa- 
thizer ;  that  I  do  this  unselfishly,  looking  only  to  your 
happiness,  and  never  thinking  of  any  thing  which 
could  lessen  you  in  your  eyes  or  me  in  my  own. 

"  Learn  to  believe  all  this,  and  think  what  you  will 
fling  away  if  you  do  not  love  me.  Believe  me,  Mag- 
gie, I  can  tell  when  it  is  present,  and  you  know  that 
you  do  not  love  me.  I  rather  like  you  for  this, 
because  if  you  were  entirely  artful  and  selfish  you 
would  pretend  to  love  me  for  the  sake  of  your  own 
interests.  I  am  glad  that  you  don't  pretend,  but  until 
you  look  upon  me  with  trust  and  brotherly  confi- 
dence you  can  never  love  me.  You  will  have  to  do 
this  soon,  Maggie ;  for  some  morning  you  will  wake 
up  and  find  that  your  friend  is  for  ever  lost  to  you. 
I  do  these  things  in  a  very  queer  way.  Some  day  or 
other  I  will  say  to  myself,  *  Am  I  not  injuring  my 
dignity  by  thus  throwing  away  upon  a  person  in  a 
walk  of  life  dijBferen*^  from  my  own,  feelings  which  she 
can  never  understand  and  of  which  she  is  not  wor- 
thy I'    This  question  I  will  answer  for  myself,  and  if 


^  I  - 

I.  )     m 


r    I 


-■•^> '  -m, 


e% 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


hi    t" 


the  answer  be  against  you,  Maggie,  you  will  see  me 
no  more. 

"  Excuse  this  cruel  way  of  writing ;  but  it  is  better 
that  you  should  understand  me.  If  I  did  not  so  love 
that  dark-eyed  little  Maggie  of  mine,  I  would  not 
write  to  her  thus.  That  Maggie  Fox  must  see  me  in 
my  true  character  or  she  will  never  see  me.  Do  then, 
dear,  dear,  dear  darling,  give  me  your  whole  heart 
and  soul  I  You  may  have  mine  in  return ;  and  once 
fc  ivinced  that  you  are  really  mine  in  love,  there  will 
be  no  end  to  my  confidence  and  affection  I  I  am  very 
sick,  Maggie,  but  I  hope  not  cross.  Don't  be  hurt  at 
what  I  say,  but  write  to  me  by  every  mail.  I  cannot 
leave  Boston  for  a  week  or  more. 

"  God  bless  you !" 


During  a  serious  illness  Dr.  E^ane  sent  several  tele- 
graphic despatches. 

[Miss  Fox  to  Dr.  Kane.] 

"My  dear  Dr.  Kane : — I  received  both  the 
despatches,  and  this  afternoon  received  your  letter; 
many  thanks.  I  am  grieved  to  hear  that  you  are  ill. 
You  say  that  you  will  telegraph  every  uay.  Do  not 
forget  to  do  so,  for  I  am  uneasy  about  you.  This 
afternoon  I  went  out  to  do  some  shopping,  and  lost 
my  way.    I  grew  so  frightened  that  I  was  obliged  to 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


69 


ask  a  lady  to  show  me  the  way  home.  When  I 
entered  the  room  I  cried  aloud;  and  looking  up  I 
saw  General  Hamilton,  who  asked  me  what  was  ae 
matter.  I  told  him  I  had  lost  my  way,  and  that  I  did 
not  like  Washington  at  all.  He  laughed  heartily, 
and  insisted  upon  it  that  no  young  lady  could  ever 
lose  her  way  in  Washington  unless  she  had  some 
'  affaire  du  cceur^  I  did  not  deny  the  charge.  Doctor, 
there  is  a  rumor — so  the  General  tells  me — that  you 
and  I  arc  to  be  married  before  you  go  to  the  Arctic. 
Last  evening  I  saw  a  large  jmpany  of  officers.  I 
believe  they  took  me  for  the  *  sj  it,'  for  they  looked 
at  me  so  incessantly  that  i  nearly  fainted;  and  I 
heard  one  gentleman  ask  his  friend  sitting  next  to  him 
'  if  Miss  Fox  did  not  attend  the  ball.'  His  friend  did 
not  seem  to  know ;  when  ne  very  coolly  asked  me, 

•  if  I  was  not  at  the  ball  given  by  Mrs.  B ,'  I  told 

him  I  was  not  there.  He  said  if  it  was  not  myself  it 
must  certmnly  have  been  my  apparition.  He  was  a 
Frenchman.. 

"  Ever  most  truly  yours, 

"  Maggie." 


70 


LOVE-LIFE  OF   DR.    KANE. 


V. 

The  following  letters  are  preserved,  among  others, 
written  about  this  time.  This  to  Miss  Katharine  Fox 
is  evidently  designed  to  excite  the  jealousy  of  her 
sister,  if  that  could  be  done. 


[Dr.  Xane  to  Miss  Kate  Fox  ] 

"  Dear  Miss  Incomprehensible  Kate  : — I  have 
never  yet  written  you  a  long  letter ;  but  your  sister 
has  doubtless  told  you  that  I  have  formally  resigned 
every  thing  but  her  friendship  ;  so  that  henceforward 
you  are  both  of  you  alike  in  my  eyes ;  and  I  do  not 
see  why  you  should  not  take  half  of  my  correspond- 
ence. As  a  friend,  I  think  you  will  like  me  quite  as 
well  as  in  the  other  relation  ;  and  I  am  sorry  to  say 
that  your  sister  will  like  me  better.  Oh,  Katy,  could 
you  not  keep  a  little  fire  in  the  ashes  of  my  memory  ? 
"Why  did  you  let  that  fickle,  wicked  little  Maggie 
forget  me  ?  I'm  glad,  however,  that  I  found  it  out  in 
time  ;  for  the  discovery  goes  hard  enough  with  me  as 
it  is. 

"Well,  now  for  talk.  Boston  is  a  funny  place, 
and  *  the  spirits '  have  friends  here.  ,  You  would  be 
surprised  if  I  told  you  what  I  have  heard.  There  is 
one  gentleman  here,  high  in  position  and  intellect, 


i  1 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE 


71 


who  keeps  a  medium  in  his  house.  This  is  no  great 
hardship,  for  she  is  very  pretty  ;  but  do  you  know 
that  he  only  visits  her  twice  a  day,  with  a  list  of 
questions  as  long  as  my  arm?  He  governs  every 
action  of  life  by  the  answers,  and  is  worse  than  a 
dozen  Dr.  Notts  or  Mr.  Longfacc  Kennedys. 

"  There  is  a  very  refined  lady  here  who  took  me 
to  see  the  thing.  I  kept  one  of  my  grave  faces,  and 
was  appropriately  patronized.  Chairs  danced  about 
the  room,  and  clothes  were  twitched  to  an  extent  far 

ahead  of  Mrs. .     By  the  bye,  1  will  teach  you 

this  last  mystery,  for  I  believe  that  you  do  not  know 
it.  Believing  as  implicitly  as  I  do  in  the  spirits,  of 
course  I  am  excusable  for  finding  out  the  twitching. 

"  There  are  some  things  that  I  have  seen  which  I 
think  would  pain  you.  Maggie  would  only  laugh  at 
them;  but  with  me  it  gave  cause  for  sadness.  I  saw 
a  young  man,  with  a  fine  forehead  and  expressive 
face,  but  a  countenance  deeply  tinged  with  niclan- 
choly,  seize  the  hand  of  this  medium,  whose  name — 
as  I  never  tell  other  persons'  secrets — I  cannot  tell 
you.  He  seized  her  hand,  and  begged  her  to  answer 
a  qAiestion  which  I  could  not  hear.  Instantly  she 
rapped,  and  his  face  assumed  a  positive  agony ;  the 
rapping  continued,  his  pain  increased ;  I  leaned  for- 
ward, feeling  an  utter  detestation  for  the  woman  who 
could  inflict  such  torment;  but  it  was  too  late.  A 
single  rap  came,  and  he  fell  senseless  in  a  fit.  This  I 
saw  with  my  own  eyes. 


I  i 


72 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.    KANE. 


"  Now,  Katy,  although  you  and  Maggie  never  go 
so  far  as  this,  yet  circumstances  must  occur  where  you 
have  to  lacerate  the  feelings  of  other  people.  I  know 
that  you  have  a  tender  heart ;  but  practice  in  any- 
thing hardens  us.  You  do  things  now  which  you 
would  never  have  dreamed  of  doing  years  ago ;  and 
there   will  come   a  time   when  you  will  be  worse 

than ;  a  hardened  woman,  gathering  around  you 

victims  of  a  delusion.    Think  of  that,  Katy  1 

"  The  older  you  grow  the  more  difficult  it  will  be 
to  liberate  yourself  from  this  thing.  And  can  you 
look  forward  to  a  life  unblessed  by  the  affections, 
unsoothed  by  the  consciousness  of  doing  right  I  For 
you^  no  innocence  with  the  blessings  of  a  kindly  home 
is  now  in  store.  When  your  mother  Jeaves  this  scene 
can  you  and  my  still  dear  Maggie  be  content  to  live 
that  life  of  constant  deceit  ?  Do,  dear  Katy,  think  of 
all  this  I 

"  A  few  weeks  ago  I  would  have  put  forth  my  arm 
to  save  you ;  I  would  have  been  to  you  and  your 
sister  that  which,  from  a  gentleman  in  niy  position, 
you  will  never  have  again ;  but,  dear  Katy,  this  has 
passed.  I  am  not  now  willing  to  make  the  sacrifice 
which  that  would  have  demanded;  for  it  Would  be 
unaccompanied  by  a  corresponding  confidence.  I  do 
not  blame  poor  Maggie,  for  I  am  still  her  best  friend; 
but  she  esteemed  me  too  lightly  for  me  ever  to  be 
anything  more.  I  cannot  now,  dear  child,  take  you 
with  me. 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


78 


"  But  for  all  that  I  am  still  the  best  friend  that  you 
and  Maggie  hnve,  for  I  am  disinterested;  and 
although  your  education  haa  taught  you  suspicion  and 
distrust,  you  know  that  I  am  a  man  in  whom  you  may 
confide.  Now  cannot  I  help  you  and  Maggie  ?  Is 
there  nothing  that  I  can  do  to  make  you  more  worthy 
of  this  world  and  the  riext  f  Do,  Kate,  i  ry  and  think 
over  it,  and  call  upon  your  friend  if  he  can  help  you, 

"  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  getting  you,  also,  a 
Iloniton  set.  I  will  be  in  Washington  soon,  and 
although  I  cannot  perhaps  see  you,  will  send  it  to 
your  establishment.  Do  not  think  it  strange  if  I 
should  not  call,  for  I  am  a  person  of  strong  will ;  and 
after  having  made  up  my  mind  do  not  like  to  subject 
myself  to  temptation.  Besides,  you  know,  Katy,  that 
I  am  right,  and  that  Maggie  deserves  this." 


i 


[Dr.  Eano  to  Miaa  Fox.] 

"  Dear  Maggie  : — I  know  that  you  will  be 
tempted  to  open  Kate's  letter,  so  I  send  it  through 
you  in  order  that  I  may  trust  in  your  honor. 

"  If  you  want  to  see  it  show  Kate  this  note,  and  tell 
her  that  I  wish  you  to  see  the  contents.  I  say  nothing 
except  that  we  are  only  friends  and  giving  her  a 
friend's  advice." 


74 


LOVE-LIFE   OP  DR.   XANE. 


y.iaa  Maggie's  reply  to  this  letter  complaining  of 
her  want  of  affection,  shows  what  a  simple  child 
she  was. 

[Miu  Fox  to  Dr.  Eona] 

"My  Dear  Friend: — Your  letter  was  received 
this  morning ;  strange,  strange  letter. 

"  Then  I  have  lost,  forever  lost,  the  friend  I  loved 
so  dearly !  Often,  while  reading  your  letter  to  Kate> 
an  involuntary  tear  started  to  my  eyehd.  I  could  not 
check  it.  Oh  I  how  I  have  longed  to  be  with  you, 
but  can  hardly  expect  to  again. 

"  I  will  look  back  with  pleasure  on  those  hallowed 
hours- 1  have  passed  with  you. 

"  Should  we  never  again  meet  in  this  world  we  will 
in  another.  Then  you  will  know  I  have  loved  you, 
and  love  you  still. 

"  Farewell. 

"  Oh,  how  sorry  I  am  to  hear  you  are  ill  1  I  wish 
I  could  be  with  you  I 

"  As  ever,  yours, 

"  Maggie." 


Miss  Kate  was  again  favored. 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Misa  Eato  Fox.] 

"  Dear  Miss  Kate  : — I  hope  that  you  are  well  aud 


LOVE-LIFE   OF  DR.    KANE. 


76 


happy,  and  that  you  have  not  forgotten  3^our  promises 
to  your  friend. 

"  Take  my  advice  and  never  talk  of  the  spirits 
either  to  friends  or  strangers ;  you  know  that  with  all 
my  intimacy  with  Maggie,  after  a  whole  month's  trial, 
1  could  make  nothing  out  of  them.  Therefore  they 
are  a  great  mystery. 

"  So  never  fcpeak  of  them  lightly  even  to  your  best 
friends. 

"  If  ever  I  can  be  of  use  to  you  call  on  me,  as  well 
on  your  sister's  account  as  on  your  own.  I  would  be 
glad  to  serve  you. 

"  Good  bye." 


[Dr.  Kane  to  MIbs  Fox.] 

"  Maggie  Darling  : — Go  quietly  to  the  solitude  of 
your  room  before  you  read  this  ;  for  I  have  never  yet 
written  to  you,  09  myself^  and  I  am  now  for  the  first 
time  about  to  pay  you  the  compliment  of  a  good, 
honest  letter  of  simple  truth. 

"  Your  last  letter — the  only  one  received  since  my 
sickness — that  in  which  you  speak  of  the  malignant 
influences  of  '  rainy  days ' — has  shown  me  that  you 
possess  more  mind  than  I  gave  you  credit  for.  Try 
then,  dear  Maggie,  to  comprehend  what  I  am  about 
to  say ;  to  see  me  shining  through  my  words  like  the 
gildings  of  the  mists  upon  which  you  have  discoursed 
such  pretty  music. 


76 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


"  "Who  am  I  ?  Answer  tliat  question  first.  Ponder 
over  it,  and  see  what  are  my  prospects  as  regards 
worldly  wealth,  intellectual  character,  public  estima- 
tion, and  family  name.  That,  dear,  dear  little  Maggie, 
ask  yourself.  What  are  to  be  my  destinies :  and  talk- 
ing to  you  in  the  pure  simplicity  of  confidence,  I 
will  answer  that  question  myself. 

First,  I  am  better,  nohhr  in  moral  tone  than  I  have 
seemed  to  you.  My  conscience  urges  me  to  a  crusade 
of  rescue  for  our  lost  men,  now  wandering  in  an  icy 
wilderness  ;  and  for  it  and  them  I  am  about  to  sacri- 
fice the  thousand  dear  things  of  life,  home,  luxury, 
and  love. 

"  After  spending  from  my  private  means,  that 
which  would  to  you  be  Vi  fortune^  I  am  about  to  spend 
the  treasured  years  of  a  lifetime,  perhaps  life  itself. 

"  This,  dear  Maggie,  speaking  to  you  plainly,  is 
your  friend.  Born  in  circles  of  pleasure,  and  sought 
wherever  he  chose  to  seek,  he  one  day,  to  pass  an  idle 
hour,  called  upon  a  something  which  he  had  heard  of, 
in  half  sneering  parlance,  as  the  *  spiritual  rappings.' 

"  There  he  saw  a  little  Priestess^  cunning  in  the 
mysteries  of  her  temple,  and  weak  in  every  thing  but 
the  power  with  which  she  played  her  part.  A  sen- 
timent almost  of  pity  stole  over  his  worldly  heart  as 
he  saw  through  the  disguise.  Don't  be  angry,  dear, 
dear  Maggie  I  '  Can  it  be  that  one  so  young,  so  beau- 
tifuj,  so  passionate,  and  yet  so  kind  hearted,  can  be 
destined  for  such  a  life  ?'     These  were  his  thoughts. 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


77 


"  Thereupon  he  went  to  work  and  did  all  that  true 
kindness  could  do  to  get  her  confidence.  Never,  in 
the  many  hours  that  followed,  did  he  leave  a  wish  of 
hers  ungratified,  or  say  or  think  an  unkindly  word. 
His  sad  destinies  in  behalf  of  humanity  forbid  him  to 
dwell  in  the  regions  of  hve — and  then  like  a  fool  he 
went  on  loving. 

"  Why  was  this,  dear  little  Maggie  ?  It  was 
because  you  had,  knowing  all  the  circumstances,  said 
and  written  *  love  on  I'  and  therefore,  dear  darling,  I 
forgot  my  high  calling  and  let  myself  down  to  hve. 

"  *  And  now  why  all  this  nonsense  ?'  I  think  I  hear 
you  say.     *  Why,  I  knew  all  this  before.' 

"Maggie,  I've  an  object  in  writmg.    Eead  on. 

"  The  fool  so  far  forgot  himself  as  actually  to  care 
for  you.  When  absent  he  dreampt  of  you  and 
recalled  the  dear  hours  of  pleasure  which  he  had  lost. 
There  was  D'^thing  that  he  would  not  have  done  ;  and 
in  spite  of  his  public  duties  and  the  adulation  of  the 
world,  his  thoughts  constantly  reverted  to  the  out  of 
the  way  little  corner  of  one  Maggie  Fox.  At  the 
very  dinner  table  of  the  President  he  thought  of  her. 

Wonderful  to  relate,  he  even  banished .     You 

never  comprehended  him,  Maggie  ;  you  held  him  too 
cheaply. 

"  One  day  he  was  thinking  it  all  over.  He  felt  her 
"\varm  kisses  on  his  lips,  her  long  hair  sweeping  his 
cheeks.  There  was  nothing  at  that  moment  that  he 
would  not  have  done  for  her.    He  would  raise  her 


78 


LOVE-LIFE   OF  Div    I'^'/.S^i-J. 


above  her  calling,  even  to  hi-^  own  lev -J;  he  would 
cultivate  her  mind,  give  her  a  competence ;  her  sister 
should  CO  his  care.  Maggie,  there  is  nothing  that  he 
would  not  have  done.  *****.  When  for  the  first 
time  came  the  thought,  what  am  I  about  to  do  for  thia 
woman  ?  Does  she  love  me  enough  Lo  make  it  right 
that  I  should  sacrifice  so  much  for  her?  Not  the 
money — for  she  is  beyond  money  in  my  eyes — but  the 
love ;  does  she  love  me  as  I  should  be  loved  ? 

"  Then  I  thought  it  all  over,  dear  Maggie,  all  the 
little  evidences  (you  know  how  cute  I  am)  of  affection. 
I  saw  that  you  loved  me,  but  not  enough.  Dear  child, 
it  was  not  in  your  nature.  You  would  give  me 
everything  when  near  me,  but  H^rget  me  when  away. 
So  I  made  up  my  mind,  and  in  p.  moment  you  became 
my  friend. 

"Don't  be  hurt  or  angry,  dear,  sweet  Maggie,  for 
you  have  by  this  time  leariiod  to  know  me.  Our 
intercourse  will  be  as  a  dream,  coming  back  to  you  in 
the  quiet  reveries  of  life's  summer  time,  when  I  am 
buried  ii,  ju  Polar  snows. 

"  Strange  are  the  mysteries  of  the  heart ;  and  now 
that  it  is  too  late,  you  will  love  me  as  before  you  did 
not.  You  will  never  be  able  to  recall  any  thing  about 
me  little,  or  mean,  or  selfish  ;  and  you  will  have  upon 
you,  like  a  momentary  nightmare,  the  sad  conviction 
of  what  you  have  lost. 

"  Don't  think,  Maggie  darling,  that  I  am  blaming 
yon,  or  that  I  am  suspicious,  or  cross,  or  peevish  ;  I 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   ICANE. 


70 


I  am 


never  said  an  unkind  thing  to  you  m  my  life.  I  only 
tell  you  in  manly  straightforwardness  that  which  your 
own  heart  acknowledges,  '  that  you  had  not  the  depth 
of  affection  to  be  worthy  of  me.' 

"  Change  is  a  principle  of  our  nature  ordained  by  a 
law  of  God,  and  impressed  upon  every  living  thing. 
The  humble  lowliness  of  the  budding  plant  expands 
into  the  painted  glories  of  the  flower,  and  the  oak  of 
the  spring-time  is  not  the  oak  of  winter.  "We  all 
change,  dear  Maggie,  and  novelty  is  the  mother  of  one 
half  of  our  blessings.  Do  not  think  that  I  blame  you 
for  obeying  an  instinct  of  your  nature. 

"Your  lettCi,  the  only  letter  up  to  Tuesday  the 
16th,  makes  me  write  to  you  thus. 

"Now  hear  my  conclusion.  Put  your  little  hand 
upon  your  heart,  and  say — '  He  places  confidence  in 
me  and  tells  me  the  actual  truth ;  shall  I  reward  his 
candor  by  deception  ?'  And  then  sit  down  at  once, 
dear  Maggie,  and  write  to  me,  and  I  will  believe  you. 
If  it  be  that  you  really  in  3'our  deepest  centre  care  for 
me,  say  so ;  if  it  be  the  feeling  of  a  friend  only,  say 
so ;  and  in  the  one  case  I  will  see  you  again ;  u  the 
other,  never. 

"  Direct  your  letter  at  once  to  Delmonico's.  I  leave 
Boston  on  Saturday. 

"  Think  over  this  letter  I !  r 

Like  Surrey's  Geraldine —  , 

"  She  had  not  years  to  understand 
The  grief  that  he  did  feel." 


*■■' 


'     H 


!'• 


80 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.    KANE. 


VI. 

When  Dr.  Kane  and  his  brother  came  to  Washing- 
ton, they  were  unable  to  get  rooms  at  a  hotel,  and 
took  them,  accordingly,  in  Mrs.  Sullivan's  house. 
Their  parlour  was  on  the  floor  above  that  occupied  by 
Mrs.  Fox.  But,  though  lodging  under  the  same  roof, 
Dr.  Kane  jealously  observed  the  same  formal  etiquette 
with  the  ladies,  as  if  they  had  been  in  their  own  man- 
sion. He  once  spoke  seriously  to  the  younger  ones 
on  the  impropriety  of  calling  to  gentlemen,  or  knock- 
ing at  the  doors  of  their  private  parlors.  Miss  Fox 
had  too  much  intuitive  delicacy  to  make  such  cautions 
necessary;  indeed,  she  would  have  been  called  prudisli 
by  most  A  merican  young  women. 

"  The  Preacher's  "  homilies,  however,  did  not  pre- 
vent his  own  dereliction  sometimes.  On  one  occasion, 
after  knocking  at  Mrs.  Fox's  parlor  door  for  admis- 
sion in  vain  (a  private  circle  was  in  session),  he  sent 
in  the  following  slip : 


n  ;  i 


"  Maggie,  you  are  a  d d  humbug !  I  refused  a 

dinner  at  the  French  Minister's the  Count  de  Sar- 

tiges- for  the  pleasure  which  you  now  deny  me. 

D n  Waddy  I- send  your  mother,  at  least." 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


81 


bing- 
,  and 
.ouse. 
3d  by 
I  roof, 
^uette 
.  man- 
r  ones 
cnock- 
8  Fox 
lutions 
irudisli 

>t  pre- 

[casion, 

admis- 

le  sent 


fused  a 
le  Sar* 
ly  me. 
at." 


At  another  time,  impatient  of  the  sittings — while 
one  was  going  on,  he  sent  in  a  note,  beseeching  his 
"Dearest  Pel"  to 

"  Come  out  for  a  moment  from  those  coarse  people 

to  your  friend  waiting   for  his  little   Maggie. 

Surely  you  can  rest  a  minute  I     Come,  dearest  flutter- 
ing bird  I    Come  I" 


M' 


On  one  occasion,  after  a  large  company  of  gentle- 
men had  left  the  spiritual  rooms,  Miss  Fox  heard  the 
familiar  knock  of  her  friend  at  the  door ;  and  being 
inclined  for  a  little  girlish  mischief,  concealed  herself 
in  the  wardrobe,  which  had  been  placed  in  the  room 
for  the  purpose  of  exhibiting  some  extraordinary- 
manifestation  when  the  medium  was  within  it.  Dr. 
Kane  opened  the  door,  and  advancing  to  the  table, 
took  up  and  read  the  questions  that  had  been  written 
in  the  circle.  Then  he  soliloquized  aloud.  It  was 
such  a  pity ! — It  was  so  repulsive — so  abhorrent  to 
refinement — to  be  exposed  to  such  associations!  It 
was  so  wounding  to  his  feelings,  to  have  one  he  held 
so  dear,  compelled  to  mingle  in  such  society  !  "To 
think  of  my  Maggie  listening  to  such  questions  I" 
The  lesson  was  not  lost  on  the  young  lady,  who  heard 
all  in  her  hiding-place. 

At  another  time  the  Doctor  entered  the  parlor  just 

4* 


82 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


lifer 


as  poor  Maggie  had  accidentally  pulled  down  a  cup 
of  cough  syrup  from  the  mantelpiece  over  her  head 
and  neck.  The  lover  hurried  to  her  assistance,  and 
carefully  washed  her  hair,  face,  and  neck,  delighted  to 
perform  any  kind  office  for  her,  and  snatch  tho 
opportunity  of  kissing  the  disarranged  locks  and  wet 
forehead. 

It  could  hardly  have  been  a  lover's  quarrel  that 
called  forth  such  notes  as  the  following ;  one  of  a 
hundred : 

"  So,  Miss  Maggie,  you  have  given  me  up.    Well  I 

"  Good-bye." 


Carriages  were  very  expensive  in  Washington  at 
that  time,  yet  Dr.  Kane  procured  them  for  his  friends 
without  regard  to  cost,  and  Miss  Fox  was  taken  to  see 
all  the  lions  of  the  Federal  City.  The  Doctor  tried 
his  voice  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  with  a  view 
to  a  lecture.  Once,  when  driving  out,  at  sight  of  some 
cows,  the  young  lady  expressed  a  desire  to  drink  a 
cup  of  fresh  milk.  He  insisted  on  procuring  it  for  her 
at  a  house  by  the  road  side.  Her  slightest  wish  was 
realized  by  him,  and  anticipated  whenever  it  was 
possible. 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


88 


Miss  Fox  suflfered  from  influenza  in  Washington, 
while  Dr.  Kane  was  absent ;  a  telegraphic  despatch, 
bearing  date  March  11th,  1853,  sent  while  he  was  in 
Philadelphia,  was  in  these  words : 


"  Are  you  better  ? 

"  Shall  I  come  to  you  ? 


"E.  K.  Kane." 


One  dated  the  day  previous  was  as  follows : 

"March  lOth,  1863. 
To  Miss  Maboabet  Fox, 

F.  Street,  3  doors  west  of  13th  Street,  Washington. 

When  do  you  leave  ?    Answer  by  bearer. 

E.  K.  Kane. 
36  Girard  Street" 


These  letters  followed  the  despatch ; 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 


•Miss  M.  Fox. 


"Phil'a,  March  10th,  '53. 


"Very,  very  sorry,  dear  darling,  that  you  are  sick. 
Sick  in  gloomy  Washington,  with  nobody  to  sympa- 
thize with  you,  except  fusty  old  Tallmadge,  and  fool- 


84 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


ish  Waddy  Numbskull.  Do  you  not  miss  the  kind 
welcome,  the  greeting  smile,  the  warm  kiss,  and  the 
resting  breast  of  *  cousin  Peter  ? '  Do,  dear  Maggie, 
hurry  and  leave  this  wretched  life.  Come,  dear  little 
one,  and  nestle  in  my  arms.  But  for  the  Polar  Ices 
they  should  be  your  home. 

"  Keep  up  your  spirits,  and  when  the  vulgar  crowd 
permit  you,  write  to  the  one  person  in  all  the  world 
who  '  holds  your  destinies '  in  his  hands ;  that  trusted 
and  well-beloved  friend  and  master^  who  yet  controls 
not  heavily,  but  leads  you  to  better  ways  by  the  cords 
of  hve.^^ 


{Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  Deab  Darling  Child  : — I  am  more  than  sorry  at 
your  sickness,  and  but  for  your  telegraph  would  have 
come  on  to  you.  If  at  any  moment  I  can  be  of  use 
send  for  me,  and  regard  me  as  in  every  Hiing  at  your 
service. 

"  Sign  your  telegraphs  F.  Webster. 

"  I  will  write  again  and  longer.  The  mail  is  clos- 
ing. Learn  to  understand  me,  and  remember  that  you 
are  to  live  hereafter  as  one  born  to  a  nobler  and  better 
life. 

"  God  bless  you,  little  one." 


LOVK-LIPK  OF  DR.   RANK. 


85 


The  following  despatch  was  sent  as  the  party  waa 
about  leaving  Washington. 

"Phila.,  March  14th,  1863. 
"  To  Miss  Margabbt  Fox, 

"F.  at  3  doors  west  of  13th  at, 

"  Mrs.  Sullivan's,  Washington. 

"  Do  you  leave  at  five  ? 

"  Telegraph  your  health  by  bearer. 

"  E.  K.  Kane." 

The  frequency  of  these  despatches  showe*  *he 
Doctor's  warm  and  impetuous  nature.  Sometim»;s 
three  or  four  in  a  day  would  be  received  by  Miss  Fox. 

The  following  note  awaited  Miss  Fox  at  the  hotel 
in  Philadelphia.  ,   ' 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"Have  you  arrived?  I  went  to  the  cars  for  you 
with  a  carriage,  but  missed  you. 

"  If  you  come  in  time  go  to  Madame  Barati's,  Eighth 
street  below  Walnut,  for  your  dress. 

"  Send  word  when  you  wish  me  to  call." 


The  follow-  ig  formal  note  intervening,  was  sent 
open  by  a  friend  in  Philadelphia.  It  forms  a  curious 
contrast  to  the  others,  and  shows  that  there  had  been 


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86 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.  KANE. 


no  p  vowal  among  Dr.  Kane's  friends  of  his  engage- 
ment. 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Mlas  Fox.] 

"  My  Dear  Miss  Fox : — I  hear  with  regret  that 
you  visit  our  city  during  my  absence  in  New  York. 
If  you  remain  in  Philadelphia  beyond  Wednesday, 
have  the  kindness  to  favor  me  with  your  address,  as 
I  should  much  like  to  present  you  to  my  father,  and 
reciprocate  your  courtesy  by  the  hospitalities  of  our 
quiet  village. 

"  In  haste  very  faithfully 

"  Your  friend  and  servant, 
'-'  "E.  K.  Kane." 


The  above  was  immediately  preceded  by  the  fol- 
lowing. 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  For.] 

"  Dear  Maggie  : — Like  a  good  boy  I  have  been 
twice  to  the  cars,  and  twice  telegraphed  you  without 
an  answer.  If  you  should  come  in  to-night,  this  letter 
will  at  least  show  you  that  you  have  one  true  and 
devoted  friend. 

"  I  have  been  busy  inquiring  into  schools,  and  have 
much  news  for  you. 

"  Go  to-morrow  morning  to  Madame  Barati's.    Fran- 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


87 


CIS  will  call  at  about  ten  o'clock  for  your  orders.  Tell 
him  at  what  time  to  have  a  carriage  for  you,  and 
make  use  of  me  and  mine  as  if  I  were  your  brother. 
Kcmember  that  from  this  time  forward  you  belong  to 
Forget  the  spirits,  and  live  for  better  and  hap- 


me. 


pier  things.     Send  word  by  Fro  icis  about  your  move- 
ments.    And  if  you  don't  want  to  write — for  you 
never  write — why  take  no  trouble  with  cousin  Pet£r. 
"  Love  to  Kate.    Eemembrance  to  Mother  Fox." 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  Dear  Mag  : — I  have  been  inquiring  after  schools 
like  a  good  fellow ;  seeking  out  many,  that  my  little 
Maggie  may  have  a  choice.  I  have  also  written  for 
a  fine  Newfoundland  dog — a  big,  brave,  steadfast 
friend — who  will  keep  love  of  me  alive  in  you. 

"  Dear  Maggie,  how  happy  and  proud  you  will 
make  me  if  you  study  well  to  improve  in  all  things, 
that  your  life  may  be  a  blessing  instead  of  a  curse, 
and  that,  in  this  heartless  world  of  misconstruction,  I 
can  lay  the  flattering  unction  to  my  soul  of  having 
done  good  to  you. 

"  But  I  cannot  help  telling  you  how  much  depends 
upon  you^  how  little  upon  myself.  I  will  give  all  that 
man  and  friend  can  give,  but  what  is  that  in  compa- 
rison with  what  is  allotted  to  you  1  „ 


88 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


ill: 


"Listen,  Maggie;  instead  of  a  life  of  cherished 
excitement  you  must  settle  down  into  one  of  quiet, 
commonplace  repose.  Instead  of  the  fun,  the  deli 
cious  merriment  of  *  *  "'^  *  (we  wont  trust  this  to 
paper),  you  will  have  the  irksome  regulations  of  a 
school,  the  strict  formal  precepts  of  a  lady  abbess,  a 
schoolmvitress.  - 

"  No  more  Waddys,  no  more  Greeley s,  no  more 
wiseacre  scientific  asses,  and  pop-eyed  committees  of 
investigation  I  No  more  sympathizing  evenings  with 
your  one  true  friend,  nor  dinners,  and  drives  to  quaint 
old  country  ipns ! ! 

"  Yes,  dear  darling,  you  must  give  up  all  these,  and 
draw  upon  your  self  denial  and  energies  to  sustain 
you ;  but  then  what  a  return  I 

"  How  pleasant,  very  pleasant,  to  find  yourself 
developing  a  new  flower — better,  a  new  woman— the 
girl  merged  in  the  new  career,  and  a  life  of  useful- 
ness decked  with  hope  and  blessings  spreading  itself 
before  you  I  -  . 

"  Do,  dear,  sweet  pet,  *  sugar-plum,'  try  hard,  strug- 
gle hard,  fight  hard,  and  be  a  reward  to  me.  Oh, 
how  happy  we  will  be  I 

"Amen  I  :r      .  *       •  v 

"  Oh,  how  I  love  you  since  our  ride  I  You  know 
me  just  as  I  am  :  my  good  and  my  bad — for  from 
you  I  have  no  concealments.  And  I  know  you  even 
to  your  secret  faults,  and  knowing  you,  love  you. 
What  more  can  you  desire  ? 


LOVE-LIFE   OF  DR.   KANE. 


89 


"  Except  Grod,  no  one  knows  you  as  I  do.  Make 
me  your  guardian  angel,  dear  Maggie,  and  remember 
our  last  compact.    You  know  what  I  mean. 

"  He  is  a  strange  man,  this  master  of  yours ;  you 
love  him  and  honor  him ;  for  you  see  mixed  up  with 
his  faults  much  good.  Do,  dear  darling,  let  me  influ- 
ence you,  and  guide  you  to  happy  paths  ! 

"  I  promised  a  horseback  ride ;  I  promised  to  be  in 
New  York  on  Saturday.  Well,  I  never  break  a 
promise!  t 

.  "Preacher. 

"March  lltk." 


i'ttl 


The  "compact"  was  a  mutual  promise  of  truth 
and  constancy  during  the  absence  of  Dr.  Kane  in  the 
Arctic  seas. 


In  New  York,  as  elsewhere,  Dr.  Kane  paid  daily 
visits  to  Miss  Fox,  and  often  took  her  out  for  a  drive. 
One  day,  having  called,  and  heard  that  she  had  gone 
to  visit  some  lady  friends,  he  followed  her  to  the 
house  where  the  friends  boarded,  and  entering  the 
parlor,  requested  her  to  accompany  him  home. 
"Come,  Maggie  darling,"  he  said,  not  seeming  to 
heed  the  persons  present. 

Their  engagement  of  course  was  not  concealed 
from  the  near  relations  of  Mrs.  Fox.  Some  dis- 
turbance was  caused  by  ill-timed  advice  and  inter- 
ference.   While  protesting  his  solemn  determination 


!■ 


.5.1' 


90 


LOVE-LIFE   OF   DR.    KANE. 


to  marry  Margaret  Fox,  Dr.  Kant;  was  equally 
resolved  that  she  should  first  complete  her  education. 
He  was  not  willing  to  take  into  his  family  an  untu- 
tored girl,  leaving  her,  as  he  must,  during  the  years 
of  his  absence,  with  unformed  habits,  and  tastes  undi- 
rected by  mental  culture.  Miss  Fox  herself  was 
opposed  to  an  immediate  union  with  her  lover ;  for 
her  pride  was  enlisted  in  her  wish  first  to  render  her- 
self worthy  of  association  with  his  distinguished  rela- 
tives. She  was  not  in  the  least  ambitious  for  herself; 
and  it  will  be  seen  in  the  letters  of  Dr.  Kane  how 
unceasing  were  his  efforts  to  inspire  her  with  suffi- 
cient ambition  to  make  her  appreciate  the  elevated 
position  he  had  offered  her  as  his  wife.  He  saw  that 
she  cared  little  for  worldly  distinction,  and  he  feared 
that  her  love  for  him  was  not  strong  enough  to  induce 
her  to  give  up  all  the  novelty  and  fascination  of  a 
life  of  continual  frivolous  excitement,  for  the  hope  at 
some  uncertain  period  of  being  his  own ;  the  interval 
to  be  passed  in  retirement.  He  was  a  prey  to  con- 
stant anxiety  on  this  account,  and  kept  an  uneasy 
watch  over  her  while  she  was  surrounded  by  people 
interested  in  spiritualism.  Dr.  Kane  used  every 
method  in  his  power  to  detach  her  from  them,  and 
was  accustomed  playfully  to  say  that  by  holding  up 
his  hand  he  could  learn  if  she  had  or  had  not  obeyed 
his  instructions.  This  he  said  he  had  learned  of  a 
conjuror  who  had  been  in  the  East  Indies. 


After 
New  Yo: 
this  letter 


i 

MW 

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mm 

■; 

cellar,  I  th: 
pers,  or  M; 
fJear  Ma^o-i 

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Washingtoi 
'It  was 
much  and  h 
you  first  ga 
love. 

"  Just  for 
hvan's.  Soj 
^e  had  sper 
s^ry  room 
cashed  wallj 
consolate. 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


91 


VII. 

After  the  return  of  Mrs.  Fox  and  her  daughter  to 
New  York,  Dr.  Kane  was  in  Washington,  and  wrote 
this  letter : 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Mlsa  Fox.] 

"Thubsdat,  April  8th,  1863, 

"I  am  in  Washington,  dear  Mag — and  oh,  how 
lonely  !  Your  absence  changes  everything.  The 
city  looks  like  a  forlorn  village,  and  the  people  like 
a  crowd  of  ill-dressed  pickpockets. 

"  If  I  jump  into  a  carriage,  I  think  of  the  dear 
little  partner  of  my  drives.  If  I  dine  in  an  oyster- 
cellar,  I  think  of  Francis  and  his  chafing-dish  sup- 
pers, or  Mrs.  K ,  and  her  ^  sassengers.'    Indeed, 

dear  Maggie,  sick  as  I  was,  I  passed  a  happy  time  in 
Washington.  ..  ^ 

"  It  was  there  that  you  first  learned  to  feel  how 
much  and  how  truly  I  cared  for  you  ;  there,  too,  that 
you  first  gave  me  your  confidence,  and  with  it  your 
love. 

"  Just  for  the  sake  of  old  times,  I  visited  Mrs.  Sul- 
livan's. Some  stranger  occupied  the  parlor  in  which 
we  had  spent  so  many  frolic  hours ;  and  the  third 
story  room  was  as  naked  and  desolate  as  its  white- 
washed walls.  Even  the  garret  looked  sad  and  dis- 
consolate. - 


92 


>i 


LOVE-LIFE   OF  DR.    KANE. 


■X- 


"  But  when  I  went  into  the  parlor  and  saw  the 
looking-glass  before  which  you  had  so  often  brushed 
that  tumble-down  head  of  yours,  and  the  wardrobe 
from  which  had  so  often  issued  the  mysterious  sounds 
— I  felt  quite  sad.  The  fact  is,  *  Ly  '  cares  more 
about  you  than  you  deserve.  v 

"  Here,  thought  I,  here  in  this  very  room,  did  my 
little  priestess  achieve  her  triumphs.     Here  sat  dear 
loveable   whispering    Waddy  with  his  mental  ques- 
tions ;  and  here  cute,  but  well  believing  Tallmadge, 
with  his  sharp,  cunning  eye,  but  foolish,  credulous 
brain.     Here  my  little  Maggie  led  them  all  by  the 
nose ;  and  hereupon  I  set  up  a  devil  of  a  thinking— as 
to  whether  this  girl  who  could  so  lead  others  would 
ever  be  led  by  me,  or  whether  I  too  was  not  a  Waddj 
Thompson  of  another  sort,  and  Maggie  only  cheating 
me  in  a  differen  i  way  ?     Maggie,  he  who  sows  the 
wind  will  reap  the  whirlwind ;  and  I  have  done  wrong 
by  you,  my  own  dear  little  Maggie — wrong, — not 
because  I  did  not  state  to  you 'that  our  love  might  end 
in  disappointment — not  because  I  did  not  honestly 
open  your  eyes  to  the  difference  of  our  positions; 
but  wrong  because  I  still  stayed  near  you,  teaching 
you  to  love  me,  and  weakly  forgetting  that  every 
minute  made  it  harder  for  us  to  break  our  chains- 
golden  though  they  were,  dear  darling,  golden  though 
they  were  I 

"  But  now  that  the  deed  is  done,  and  that  you  have 


LOVE-LIFE  OP  DR.   KANE. 


93 


given  me,  as  you  really  have,  your  heart,  I  owe  you 
an  atonement ;  and  truly,  Mag,  will  I  make  it.  You 
shall  never  regret  having  known  and  cared  for  me.  I 
will  be  a  brother  to  you. 

"  Remember  that  I  am  pure  and  disinterested  ;  and 
that  you  have  never  had  from  poor  Ly  a  word  that 
would  not  make  you  a  nobler  woman. 

"  Dear  Maggie,  let  us  try  to  do  what  is  right,  and 
give  me  credit  for  unselfish  love  in  whatever  I  may  do 
for  you. 

"  Now  all  this  long  preaching  is  to  tell  you  that  I 
have  a  prospect  of  a  home  for  you.  I  have  applied 
to  an  aunt  of  mine,  who  owns  a  large  country  estate, 
and  she  has,  like  a  dear  good  friend,  consented  to 
make  all  the  arrangements.  This  will  leave  you  free 
from  any  chance  of  misconstruction.  Through  her 
influence  I  can  get  you  a  quiet  yet  cheerful  home, 
where  you  will  be  the  only  boarder,  and  where  you 
may  have  a  governess,  and  a  room,  and  a  piano  all  to 
yourself.  It  is  true,  dear  Mag,  that  this  home  will  be 
a  plain  country  gentleman's ;  a  man  with  moderate 
means  and  a  large  family ;  but  you  will  be  all  the 
happier  for  that.  You  will  be  to  them  only  as  a  lady ; 
no  one  shall  know,  not  even  my  relative,  where  the 
money  comes  from.    You  can  pay  them  yourself  and 

they  will  look  up. to  you.     Miss ,  your  governess, 

is  as  ugly  as  sin,  but  she  is  a  very  good  girl,  whom 
you  can  do  as  you  please  with.  It  is  with  her  father, 
a  rough  broad  Scotchman,  that  you  will  live. 


94 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


"Here  then,  Maggie,  free  to  do  as  you  please,  sur- 
rounded by  good  plain  people,  not  too  grand  for  your 
comfort,  with  my  own  aunt  to  talk  and  advise  with 
you  if  you  want  a  friend — it  seems  to  me  that  you 
will  have  everything  that  you  can  desire.  And,  oh, 
Mag,  how  pleasant  it  would  be  to  me  to  see  as  my 
reward  that  you  become  a  refined^  educated,  consci- 
entious woman.  It  will  cost  me  money,  dear  darling, 
but  it  will  be  nothing  if  you  show  yourself  worthy  of 
my  care. 

"  After  spending  the  summer  in  this  country  home, 
you  can  enter  Madam  Moulenard's,  at  Albany,  and 
make  Mrs.  Turner's  the  home  of  your  vacations. 

"  I  will  in  a  couple  of  days  mention  this  to  your 

mother  with  full  explanations,  names,  etc.,  etc.     She 

must  then  decide.     If  *  yes,'  I  will  take  her  and  you 

to  the  place,  let  you  see  it,  and  then  return  to  New 

York  to  make  your  arrangements.     In  the  mean 

time  keep  it  a  secret,  but  write  instantly  telling  me 

what  you  think,  for  I  will  not  write  to  your  mother 

until  I  hear  from  you. 

"  Do  think  often  of 

>  -      "Ly." 


There  was  an  evident  purpose  in  the  warnings  con- 
veyed in  the  following  and  other  letters  ;•  viz.  to  show 
the  unavoidable  result  of  a  continuance  in  the  spirit- 


LC  7E-LIPE  OP   DR.   KANE. 


95 


rapping  association.  Perhaps  the  Doctor  really  Al- 
tered, at  times,  in  his  resolution  to  be  true  to  his 
chosen  one,  in  view  of  the  ridicule  and  odium  sucii  an 
association  might  bring  on  himself;  certain  it  is  that 
he  dreaded  the  consequences  of  his  engagement  be- 
coming known.  Hence  his  cautions  to  Margaret  to  be 
careful  of  his  reputation,  etc. 


[Dr.  Kone  to  MIsb  Fox.] 

"My  Dear  Sweet  Maggie: — Night  has  come, 
and  the  hour  which  ushers  in  another  day  is  chiming 
from  the  cracked  bells  of  Washington.  Yet  I  sit 
down  to  give  you  my  regular  record  of  remembrance, 
to  show  my  little  Maggie  that  she  is  not  forgotten. 

"  Dear  Hag,  though  you  have  not  written  to  me,  I 
am  every  day  the  same — that  good-natured,  careful, 
loving  *Ly,'  whose  only  thought  is  how  he  may 
please,  whose  only  hope  that  he  may  train  you  to 
ways  of  pleasantness  and  peace.  Do,  dear  darling,  be 
lifted  up  and  ennobled  by  my  love.  Live  a  life  of 
purity,  and  meet  your  reward  in  the  respect  of  your- 
self, the  praise  of  this  world,  and  the  blessings  of 
Heaven. 

"  Waddy  called  on  me  to-day,  as  did  Tallmadge ; 
I  was  kind  to  both  for  your  sake.  Waddy  talked 
much  about  you.  He  said  that  he  feared  for  you,  and 
spoke  long  and  well  upon  the  dangers  and  tempta- 
tions of  your  present  life.  I  said  little  to  him  other 
than  my  convictions  ot  your  own  and  your  sister's 


96 


LOVE-LIFE  OF   DR.    KANE. 


excellent  character  and  ^pure  simplicity;^  for  thus, 
Mag,  I  always  talk  of  you.  And  it  pained  me  to  find 
that  others  viewed  your  life  as  I  did,  and  regarded  you 
as  occupying  an  ambiguous  position.  Depend  upon 
it,  Maggie,  no  right-minded  gentleman — whether  he 
be  believer  or  skeptic — can  regard  your  present  life 
with  approval.  Let  this,  dear  sweet,  make  you  think 
over  the  offer  of  the  one  friend  who  would  stretch  out 
an  arm  to  save  you.  Think  wisely,  dear  darling,  ere 
it  be  too  late. 

"  In  a  few  weeks  I  will  be  away  from  you.  '  Thick 
ribbed  ice,  sterner  than  warrior's  steel '  will  separate 
me  from  you.  Never  again  will  you  have  an  unselfish, 
honorable  friend,  whose  heart  pulsates  in  unison  with 
your  own,  whose  thoughts  are  devoted  to  your 
welfare. 

"  Maggie,  you  cannot  tell  the  sadness  that  comes 
over  me  when  I  think  of  you.  What  will  become  of 
you?  you  the  one  being  that  I  regard  even  before 
myself  I  Circumstance,  that  tyrant  of  human  destinies, 
forbids  our  marriage,  except  by  a  sacrifice  of  all  that 
makes  worldly  life  desirable ;  and  to  the  gratification 
of  our  love  we  have  the  opposition  of  society,  of  edu- 
cation, and  of  conscience.  Yet  I  tremble  at  the  idea 
of  bidding  you  good-bye  for  ever.  The  very  thought 
of  never  returning  fills  me  with  indescribable  awe  and 
melancholy.  Yet  I  feel  that  I  ought  never  to  see  you 
again.  Your  love  should  die  away  with  absence ;  and 
our  continual  meetings  only  add  fuel  to  the  flame. 


LOVE-LIFE  OP  DR.  KANE. 


97 


Do  write  to  me,  Maggie,  and  tell  me  what  your  own 
heart  tells  you  is  best. 

"  If  you  really  can  make  up  your  mind  to  abjure 
the  spirits,  to  study  and  improve  your  mental  and 
moral  nature,  it  may  be  that  a  career  of  brightness 
will  be  open  to  you ;  and  upon  this  chance,  slender  as 
it  is,  I  offer,  like  a  true  friend,  to  guard  and  educate 
you.  But,  Mag,  shadows,  clouds,  and  darkness  rest 
upon  the  execution  of  your  good  resolves;  and  I 
sometimes  doubt  whether  you  have  the  firmness  of 
mind  to  carry  them  through. 

"  Last  night,  after  writing  to  you,  I  held  up  my 
hand.  Forgive  me,  Maggie,  but  I  did  not  look  back. 
I  only  tried  to  see  what  would  be  your  future  life. 
Oh,  Maggie,  Maggie,  Maggie,  how  much  misery  I  saw 
ahead !  how  much  of  bitter  remembrance,  of  horrible 
regret  I  Yet  with  all  this  there  was  sunshine,  and  a 
voice  sounded  continually  in  my  ears — Open  to  her 
the  light — let  her  see  the  blessings  .of  day,  and  she  will 
not  walk  in  darkness. 

"  Excuse  this  preaching  letter.  You  know  I  am  a 
queer  mixture  of  good  and  bad.  Therefore  let  me  end 
with  a  Washington  kiss  and  my  love  to  Miranda.* 


"Ly. 


"Pbidat." 


*  "  Miranda"  was  a  poetical  name  assumed  by  the  fair  Maggie. 

5 


98 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


The  reader  will  not  fail  to  notice,  in  the  continual 
complaints  made  by  the  lover  of  the  young  lady's 
coldness,  and  in  the  tone  of  her  letters,  that  her  aflPec 
tion  at  this  time  was  far  less  demonstrative  than  his 
own.  She  was  very  young,  and  unskilled  in  the 
expression  of  either  feelings  or  thoughts,  especially  in 
letters.  There  is  a  school-girl  constraint  about  all  she 
wrote  at  this  period.  More  than  this ;  the  extreme 
reserve  which  had  been  imposed  by  her  few  months 
of  professional  life,  and  her  consciousness  that  the 
slightest  unguarded ness  might  subject  her  to  undue 
familiarity,  induced  a  degree  of  self-control,  and  a 
sensitive  regard  to  her  own  dignity,  which  may  easily 
have  seemed  like  coldness  to  an  inapetuous  admirer. 
She  and  others  testify  that  never,  in  the  whole  course 
of  her  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Kane,  did  he  once  forget 
the  respect  due  to  her,  or  overstep  the  limits  of  perfect 
decorum  in  his  conduct  towards  her.  On  the  con- 
trary, he  held  her  as  something  too  pure  and  sacred 
for  even  an  unhallowed  thought.  She  was  in  his  eyes 
a  divinity,  enshrined  in  virtue's  holiest  sanctuary,  and 
not  to  be  gazed  on  by  the  vulgur  crowd.  It  was  his 
greatest  grief  that  she  should  be  exposed  to  the 
intrusions  of  coarse  and  stupid  persons,  who  frequented 
the  spiritual  circles.  Had  not  his  Polar  wanderings 
been  before  him,  and  had  he  been  master  of  his  own 
movements,  he  -v^ould  doubtless  have  snatched  her 
from  such  a  life,  by  making  her  his  wife  at  once.  But 
this  could  not  be  *  and  meanwhile,  he  could  not  but 


feel  th 

with  J 

spiritu 

warnir 

inconsi 

a  ment 

with  h 

self-Iov 

In  a 

express 

Miss  Fc 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.  KANE. 


99 


feel  that  her  family  consented  with  reluctance  to  part 
with  her,  and  that  she  herself  hardly  yet  looked  on 
spiritual  matters  as  he  t  shed  her  to  do.  Hence  his 
warnings  and  reproaches ;  his  cautions,  and  frequent 
inconsistencies.  Hence  his  assumption  of  the  tone  of 
a  mentor,  and  the  comparisons  of  her  social  position 
with  his  own,  which  may  .it  times  have  piqued  her 
self-love. 

In  a  letter  addressed  to  a  lady  who  had  dared  to 
express  some  doubt  of  his  honorable  intentions  towards 
Miss  Fox.  he  says: 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Mrs.- 


-.] 


(( 


—  Your  interest  in  my  friend  Maggie  is  the  only 
thing  that  could  excuse  a  suspicion  so  gross  and  unkind 
as  that  conveyed  by  your  remarks.  On  this  account 
only  I  can  make  allowances  for  that  spirit  of  distrust 
which  an  experience  of  the  deceit  and  hypocrisy  of 
those  around  us  is  but  too  apt  to  impart." 

He  alluded  to  the  cruel  suspicions  of  this  lady  in  a 
subsec  uent  letter  to  Margaret,  which  shows  how  very 
deeply  he  was  wounded. 

It  may  be  necessary  to  explain  also  the  desire  of 
concealment  on  Dr.  Kane's  part,  and  the  stratagems 
he  proposed  to  enjoy  the  society  of  his  beloved.  The 
relative  under  whose  partial  charge  and  in  whose 
house  Miss  Fox  was  then  living,  expected  her  at  times 
to  join  the  circles  as  a  medium,  and  was  jealous  of  any 


xii'    ;■.     1 


100 


LOVE-LIFE  OP  DR.  KANE. 


'I  I.  i 


influence  that  took  away  her  attention  from  spiritual- 
ism, or  prejudiced  her  against  it.  The  Doctor  was 
always  fearful  of  giving  offence,  and  preferred  a  little 
artifice  now  and  then,  which  did  not  always  meet  with 
Miss  Maggie's  approval.  With  commendable  dis- 
cretion, she  was  ever  determined  to  avoid  anything 
clandestine. 

It  would  have  been  natural,  too,  had  the  changeful 
tone  of  her  lover's  letters,  and  his  occasional  reproofs, 
rendered  her  sometimes  disposed  to  a  little  reticence, 
beyond  what  might  have  been,  had  their  love 

"  Q-rown  in  the  world's  approving  eyes, 
In  friendship's  smile,  and  home's  caress, 
Collecting  all  the  heart's  sweet  ties 
Into  one  knot  of  happiness." 

Thus  she  seems  to  have  been  sparing  of  her  epis- 
tolary favors.  In  the  following  missive,  Dr.  Kane 
ironically  expresses  his  obligation  for  "  numerous  let- 
ters"  by  way  of  reproaching  her  for  her  silence. 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"My  Dear  Maggie: — The  mail  is  closing,  and 
after  a  hard-working  day,  I  have  barely  time  to  show 
you  that  I  remember  you  by  writing  my  usual  letter. 

"  Let  me  thank  you  for  the  numerous  letters  which 
you  have  written  during  my  absence.  A  letter  is 
always  a  proof  that  ^ou  exist  in  the  thoughts  of  the 
writer — and  the  letters  which  have    so  constantly 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


101 


cheered  the  loneliness  of  poor  Zt/,  show  him  how 
well  he  is  remembered. 

**■  When  you  write  o/gain^  address  Philadelphia,  as  I 
leave  Washington  to-morrow. 

"  I  have  attended,  dear  darling,  to  your  interests  ; 
written  to  my  aunt,  and  made  all  the  necessary  ar- 
rangements. *  *  *  's  conversation  still  annoys 
me ;  but  I  will  do  everything  for  you  that  a  brother 
could  do  for  a  sister. 

"I  think  it  probable  that  I  may  write  to  your 
mother  to  come  on  by  the  Wednesday  train  of  two 
o'clock  P.  M.,  to  see  the  place.  She  will  bring  you 
with  her,  and  if  you  are  satisfied,  and  determined  to 
adhere  to  your  good  resolves, — ^you  can  return  to  New 
York,  and  make  your  preparations  to  be  back  and 
housed  in  your  new  home  by  the  first  of  May. 

"There,  dear  Maggie,  you  will  be  a  lady ;  your 
own  mistress,  and  a  person  regarded  with  respect  by 
the  whole  house.  It  shall  be  distinctly  understood 
that  you  go  or  stay  just  as  you  please  ; — for  I  am  not 
•  going  to  turn  *  preacher,'  au  J  bind  up  my  little  Mag- 
gie by  a  set  of  rules.  I  tmst  in  you,  and  I  feel  that 
my  confidence  will  never  be  abused.  I  will  write  at 
once,  and  arrange  matters.     Write  to  Philadelphia. 

"National  Hotel, 

"AprU  11th,  1853. 

"  Good-bye,  Pet  Lamb."  ■ 

The  next  was  written  on  the  same  day : 


'  r 


102 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.  KANE. 


(( 


[Dr.  Kano  to  Mias  Fox.] 

^  "  April  11th,  National. 

My  Dear  Darling,  who  don't  love  me,  and  never 
writes  to  me,  I  leave  Washington  to-morrow  (Tues- 
day afternoon)  and  reach  Philadelphia  that  night, 
remaining  a  few  days  before  going  to  New  York. 

"  Now,  I  want  you  and  your  mother  to  start  from 
New  York  on  Wednesday  morning.  I  will  meet  you 
both  at  the  boat  arid  Union  Hotel,  and  on  Thursday 
take  you  to  Mrs.  Turner's,  where  you  can  see  your 
new  home.  If  you  cannot  stay  in  Philadelphia  till 
Sunday  evening,  I'll  return  with  you;  but  I  hope 
that  you  may  bo  able  to  stay  a  couple  of  days  in  our 
dear  old  town. 

"Bring  some  nice  sleeves  and  undershirts,  and  a 
nice  plain  black  frock,  and  plain  bonnet ;  you  are  my 
child  now  II  I  do  hope  my  aunt  will  take  a  fancy  to 
you.  I  never  dreamt  that  I  could  so  soon  bring  my 
little  spirit-rapper  into  my  family  I 

"  Write  at  once  *o  Philadelphia  the  hour  of  your 

leaving  New  York.    With  my  regards  to  Mrs. 

and  your  mother,  I  am  your  friend, 

"Preacher." 


The  ladies  did  not  accept  this  invitation,  nor  did 
they  see  Mrs.  Turner  before  the  27th  of  May. 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


103 


•  VIII. 

It  was  a  favorite  and  oft-repeated  expression  with 
the  Doctor, — "  Maggie,  you  are  a  godsend  to  me!  " 
With  all  his  complaints  of  her  shortcomings,  he  felt 
it  an  unspeakable  happiness  to  love  her,  and  to  look 
for  the  unfolding  of  a  responsive  devotion  in  her 
young  heart. 

Dr.  Kane  was  very  often  in  the  habit  of  saying — 
as  if  with  melancholy  presentiment — "  What  would 
become  of  you  if  I  should  die  ?  What  would  you 
do  ?  I  shudder  at  the  thought  of  my  death,  on  your 
account." 

In  the  buoyant  confidence  of  youth,  the  poor  girl 
could  not  then  understand  his  fears.  But  he  knew 
that  in  separating  her  from  spiritualism  he  was  isolat- 
ing her  from  ail  her  friends  and  associates,  and 
depriving  her  of  the  only  means  she  possessed  of 
earning  a  livelihood.  In  compensation  for  the  sacri- 
fices required  of  her,  he  was  giving  her  a  hope  only ; 
a  hope  that  might  be  blissfully  realized,  but  might  be 
sadly  disappointed ;  and  in  the  event  of  losing  him, 
what  must  be  her  destiny  I 

This  little  note  appears  to  have  been  written  on  the 
way  from  Washington. 


T; 


t  t 


104 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  Dear  Darling  Maggie  :— It  is  pleasant  even  to 
write  your  name  again ;  but  why  no  letters  ?  Why 
no  letters  ? 

"  I  have  just  returned  from  hard  work,  in  Wash- 
ington, and  am  sick,  worn  out,  thin  as  a  lath,  and  very 
weary. 

"Bye-bye,  darling." 


The  following  preceded  Dr.  Kane's  return  to  New 
York. 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.]  .       . 

"  Dear  Darling  : — I  know  you  think  of  me  now. 
You  miss  my  daily  visits,  my  welcoming  kiss,  and 
the  look  which  always  followed  you,  trying  to  antici- 
pate your  wishes.  You  miss  the  dear  stolen  hours, 
the  thoughts  always  bent  upon  your  happiness.  You 
miss  our  long  rides,  and  our  quiet  little  dinners ;  and 
now  of  all  the  so-called  friends  who  surround  you, 
there  is  not  one  on  whose  shoulder  you  could  place 
your  head  and  say,  'You  love  me  for  myself.*  There- 
fore, dear  Maggie,  I  know  that  you  must  think  of 
me — me,  the  only  human  being  that  you  can  trust; 
the  only  heart  before  whom  you  are  not  wearing  a 
perpetual  disguise.    Why,  you  must  love  me  I 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


105 


"  Whatever  may  be  my  faults,  I  have  at  least  loved 
you.  Were  you  an  empress,  darling  MaL^gie,  instead 
of  a  little  nameless  girl,  following  an  obscure  and 
ambiguous  profession,  it  would  be  the  same.  You 
0  juld  not  have  more  from  me. 

"  Is  the  old  house  dreary  to  you  ?  Are  the  poor 
people  below  awaiting  you,  like  Kennedy  of  old? 
Oh,  Maggie,  are  you  never  tired  of  this  weary,  weary- 
sameness  of  continual  deceit?  Are  you  thus  to 
spend  your  days,  doomed  never  to  rise  to  better 
things  ? — you  and  that  dear  little  open-minded  sister 
Kate  (for  she  too  is  still  unversed  in  deception) — are 
you  both  to  live  on  thus  for  ever  ?  You  will  neither 
of  you  be  happy  if  you  do ;  for  you  are  not,  like 
*  *  *  able  to  exult  and  take  pleasure  in  the  simpli- 
city of  the  poor  simple-hearted  fools  around  you. 

"  Do  then,  Maggie,  keep  true  to  your  last  promise. 
Show  this  to  Katy,  and  urge  her  to  keep  to  her  reso- 
lution."'^ 

"  Darling,  I  am  very  careful  of  you — more  careful 
than  you  are  of  yourself  This  is  the  last  time  I  will 
ever  allude  to  the  *  rappings '  in  a  letter ;  but  my 
friend  (Cornelius  Grinnell)  has  promised  me  to  put  it 
into  your  hands,  and  I  feel  that  it  is  safe.  You  had 
better  not  mention  the  subject  in  your  own  letters, 
unless  they  are  put  into  his  hands  by  yourself;  and  do 

*  Miss  Kate  had  promised  to  abjure  the  spirits,  too,  and  go  to 
live  with  her  sister  on  her  marriage  with  Dr.  Kane. 

6* 


(l 


\  ( 


I 


106 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


burn  or  scratch  out  such  pai-ts  of  this  letter  as  you 
would  not  have  seen. 

"  You  know  I  am  nervous  about  the  '  rappings.'  I 
believe  the  only  thing  I  ever  was  afraid  of  was,  this 
confounded  thing  being  found  out.  I  would  not  know 
it  myself  for  ten  thousand  dollars. 

"  My  friend  Mr. is  very  curious  to  know  why 

I  watched  the  house,  and  why  Kate  went  to  Phila- 
delphia. I  told  him  simply  of  a  quarrel,  or  some  such 
thing,  between  Mrs.  — '—  and  your  mother ;  that  you 
are  all  not  very  cordial,  and  will  perhaps  not  stay 
very  long  in  Twenty-sixth  street.     He  wrote  to  me 

to-day,  saying  that  Mrs. *  really  surprised  him.' 

He  is  half  inclined  to  believe.  Oh,  Maggie,  'tis  a 
d d  shame  I     Take  care  of  yourself. 


**God  bless  you  I 


"  Preacher." 


The  next  letter,  written  in  New  York,  refers  to  the 
visitors  who  came  to  witness  the  spiritual  manifesta- 
tions in  Twenty-sixth  street.  Although,  by  this 
time,  Margaret  was  as  averse  to  sitting  in  circles  as 
her  lover  could  wish  her  to  be,  she  was  subjected  to 
the  associations  she  disliked  while  residing  in  the 
house.  She  has  always  averred  that  she  never  fully 
believed  the  rappings  the  work  of  spirits^  but  ima- 
gined some  occult  laws  of  nature  concerned. 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.  KANE. 


107 


[Dr.  K«ne  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  Maggie  Dearest  : — I  am  mad,  angry,  disgusted^ 
at  the  hogs  who  have  kept  me  from  you  on  this  my 
last  day  I  What  a  life  to  lead — at  the  call  of  any 
fool  who  chooses  to  pay  a  dollar  and  command  your 
time! 

"  Do  you  know,  dear  *  Ugly,'  that  I  dreampt  about 
you  all  night  ?  You  are  a  sad  tempter,  dear  Maggie, 
but  I  intend  to  hiake  you  love  me ;  and  to  do  that 
you  will  always  have  from  me  confidence  and  respect. 

"  Perhaps,  if  you  do  not  leave  until  Monday,  I 
can  yet  see  you  again ;  for  I  will  leave  New  York  on 
Saturday,  and  give  up  every  thing  for  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  you  ag^in.  Write  to  me,  mailing  your  let- 
ter before  ten,  or  nine  o'clock,  to-night.  Direct  to 
Delmonico's ;  and  if  you  say  so,  I  will  come  back 
and  ride  with  you  on  Sunday. 

"  Maggie,  think  of  me  whenever  you  can,  but  do 
not  think  me  a  fool.  I  know  you  down  to  the  very 
tips  of  your  little  feet.    I  know  you  better  than  a 

thousand    Mrs.   si    If   you    choose    really   to 

love  me,  I  will  give  you  a  chance ;  if  not,  dear,  dar- 
ling Maggie,  why,  I'll  care  as  little  for  you  as  you  do 
for  me. 

"  Accept,  then,  my  respect ;  and  remember  that  I 
look  upon  you  as  loving  me  sincerely.  As  long  o' 
you  do  this,  you  have  in  return  from  me  every  thing 
that  I  could  give  a  most  treasured  friend. 

"1p.m." 


{{ 


108 


LOVE-LIPE   OF  DR.   KANE. 


IX. 

Not  long  after  this  period,  Dr.  Kane  was  attacked 
with  illness,  while  he  was  a  guest  at  the  house  of  Mr. 
Henry  Grinnell,  in  Bond  street,  New  York.  How 
he  longed  to  see  his  Maggie,  may  appear  from  what 
he  wrote  to  her. 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Mrs.  Fox.] 

"  Dear  Maggie  : — Too  sick  to  write,  I  am  at  Mrs. 

G 's,  and  would  dearly  love  to  have  you  to  nurse 

me,  but  fear  that  they  would  call  your  innocent  devo- 
tion by  another  name.  So  write  every  day.  I  take 
a  great  comfort  in  your  letters." 


•  [Dr.  Kane  to  Ml88  Fox] 

"  Dearest  Maggie  : — Tell  my  friend  how  and 
when  we  can  write  to  each  other ;  as  also  all  your 
movements.  /- 

"Be  careful  not  to  mention  me  before  the  Tigress, 

and  do  not  talk  to too  much  in  her  presence. 

You  had  better  write  a  note  at  once  to  him  with 
directions^  and  another,  sealed,  to  me.  Ever,  dearest 
Maggie,  the 


'*  Love  to  Kate." 


"Preacher. 


JSt 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


109 


[Dr.  Kano  I    Miaa  Fox] 

"  My  Sweet  Maggie  : — 1  cannot  see  you  to-day, 
nor  indeed  can  I  tell  when  fate  will  enable  me  to  see 
you.  I  am  very  sick — for  once  down  in  bed,  racked 
by  pains,  and  hardly  able  to  trace  these  lines.  Worse 
than  that,  I  am  giving  trouble  to  kind  friends,  and  a 
nuisance  to  all  around  me. 

"It  is  in  sickness  that  I  feel  how  dear  you  are  to 
me — how  truly,  warmly,  and  honestly  I  would  watch 
and  love  you.  Twice  has  the  carriage  driven  to  the 
door,  and  poor  Ly  made  a  fruitless  effort  to  get  into 
it ;  but  in  vain.  I  can  only  think  of  you,  and  long 
for  the  gentle  eyes  and  warm  kisses  which  would  do 
so  much  more  for  me  than  the  doctors.  Maggie,  if 
you  have  any  heart  at  all,  do  write  me  a  long,  loving 
letter  I  •• 

"Make    yourself  easy  about  's  matter.      I 

understand  why  you  want  it  carefully  confined  to 

yourselves,  and  have  bound  up  Mr.  G ,  so  as  to 

make  him  safe.  Maggie,  let  me  give  you  a  piece  of 
advice:    ^Always  believe  and  trtisi  me.'     You  were 

foolish  in  telling  Mr.  G about  that  thing,  because 

he  said  that  /  had  told  him.  I  have  never  told  him. 
He  said  untruly  when  he  told  you  so.  When  will 
you  learn  to  trust  me  ?    Never  II 

"  Pet  lamb,  in  a  few  days  we  part :  I  on  my  ardu- 
ous track — you  to  the  quiet  enjoyment  of  a  happy 
home.   Are  we  ever  to  meet  again  ?    Are  we  to  walk 


[\ 


110 


LOVE-LIFE  OP   DR.   KANE. 


ii 


arm  in  arm  over  sunny  fields — to  gaze  at  Italian  sun- 
sets from  lofty  mountains  ?  Are  we  ever  to  be  more 
to  each  other  than  we  now  are?  Or  is  this — our 
soon-coming  farewell — to  be  eternal  ? 

"  Answer  me  in  your  note,  direct  and  to  the  point. 
Don't  be  afraid  of  writing,  for  I  will  return  the  letter. 
Say  to  me,  dear  darling,  shall  I  bind  myself?  and  I 
will  send  you  to-morrow  a  binding  letter.  But  oh, 
dear  Mag,  give  me  some  written  assurance  that  you 
will  do  the  same.  Show  trust  and  faith,  for  without 
it  you  will  never  retain  my  love. 

"  I'm  very  sick,  dear  Maggie.  Do  take  your  time, 
and  answer  me — by  the  bearer. 

"  Morton  will  call  to-morrow,  and  tell  you  how  I 
am." 

The  next  day  came  the  following : 

'„■-  [Dr.  Kane  to  MIbb  Fox.] 

"  Dear  Maggie  : — Read  my  yesterday's  letter  again, 
and  you  will  perhaps  find  something  unanswered. 

"  My  darling,  I  am  very  sick — the  doctor  says  so, — 
Don't  mention  this  to  your  people ;  but  say  I  am  too 
busy  to  call.     Were  I  still  at  the  hotel,  I  would  send 

for  you  to  nurse  me ;  but  Mrs.  G ,  at  whose  house 

I  now  am,  would  not  understand  my  little  Maggie,  of 
whom  I  try  to  be  as  careful  as  a  sister. 
'  "  I  suffer  so  much,  dear  pet,  that  I  cannot  write. 
If  you  have  anything  to  do,  and  don't  feel  like  writings 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


Ill 


do  not  write.  1  don't  want  to  bore  you.  I  will  never 
give  a  speck  of  trouble  to  my  Mag,  if  I  can  help  it, 
nor  will  I  be  angry ;  so  do,  dear  darling,  do  just  as 
you  please.  I  know  that  you  love  me,  and  that 
is  enough. 

"  I  hate  people  who  pester  me  for  letters,  and  I 
don't  want  you  to  hate  me. 

"  Bye  bye  I     I'm  very  sick." 

Miss  Margaret  wrote  as  follows : 


[Miss  Fox  to  Dr.  Kane.] 

"My  Dear  Ly: — Are  you  no  better?  I  fear 
you  are  not.  I  wish  I  could  hear  from  you  every 
hour  I  I  suppose  your  mother  is  with  you  now.  Do 
come  here  as  soon  as  you  are  able  to  ride  out.  You 
ask  if  you  shall  write  *  a  binding  letter' — no — dear 
Ly — your  word  is  enough. 

"  All  I  ask  for  my  dear  Ly  is  that  you  may  get 
well.  I  am  so  glad  your  mother  is  with  you.  Do  let 
me  hear  from  you  as  often  as  possible.  , 

"In  haste,  yours, 

"Maggie. 

"  Shall  I  send  those  letters  back  to  Mr.  Grinnell  V 
(Dr.  Hawks's  letters.) 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"Maggie  Darling: — I  am  really  sick — too  sick 
to  think  of  those  who  are  nursing  me,  except  as  kind 


112 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DE.   KANE. 


and  devoted  friends.  My  mother  has  been  sent  for, 
and  will  be  here  to-morrow.  My  one  thought  is 
yourself  Do,  ray  own  dear  love,  lift  up,  and  refine 
yourself,  and  hurry  on  your  preparations,  so  as  to 
leave  as  soon  as  you  can  ;  for,  whatever  may  happen, 
you  shall  be  cared  for." 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  My  own  Sweet  Maggie  : — Ly  is  very  sick ;  so 
sick  that  you  must  make  up  your  mind  not  to  see  him 
for  a  long  time.  All  my  people  have  been  sent  for, 
and  are  here.  If  you  want  to  show  roe  that  you  care 
for  me,  write  me  at  least  one  long  affectionate  letter. 

"  Peturn  to  me  Dr.  Hawks'  papers.  I  can  just 
trace  these  lines. 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  See  Mr.  Grinnell,  sick  or  well, 

"  Dearest  Maggie  : — How  grieved  I  am  that  you 
should  be  sharing  my  troubles,  and  down  yourself 
upon  a  sick  bed!  I  long  to  see  you,  and  the  first 
liberty  will  see  me  at  your  side.  Keep  up  your 
spirits,  dear  pet  lamb. 

"If  you  are  able  to  ride  out  to-morrow  between 
twelve  and  four  P.  M.,  you  can  easily  call  on  me, 

with  Kate  or  your  mother.    I  told  Mrs.  G that 

you  had  oflfered  to  ask  *  the  spirits'  some  questions  as 
to  my  recovery,  and  she  is  very  curioiLs  to  see  the 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.  KANE. 


113 


performance.    So,  dear  Maggie,  if  you  will  gladden 
my  eyes — say  so  in  writing  (not  mentioning  it  to  Mr. 

G )  and  I  will  send  a  carriage.    Name  the  exact 

hour,  and  don't  keep  it  waiting, — for  Mrs.  G  — —  will 
send  her  own  carriage.     Keep  this  a  secret  from 

Mrs. 

"  God  bless  my  sweet  Maggie  I" 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"Dear  Pet  : — If  you  and  Kate  can  name  any  day, 
between  ten  and  half-past  three,  I  can  see  you  here. 
Mrs.  ,G is  very  anxious  to  hear  *  a  knock  pro- 
ceed from  me' — and  a  visit  would  be  very  cheer- 
ing to  poor  *Ly.'  She  will  send  her  carriage  for 
you ;  only  write  me  the  time,  and  be  plainly  dressed, 
awaiting  it.  Oh,  how  I  long  to  see  you  I  Get  well, 
dear  darling,  if  only  to  make  happy  your  faithful 
friend,  who  will  ever  guard  you." 


[Dr.  E^one  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  So,  after  an  illness  of  nearly  a  fortnight,  I  send  a 
carriage  for  you,  and  receive  the  answer  *  cannot 
possibly  come.'      Your   affections    must   be   very 


114 


LOVE-LTFE   OF  DR.   KANE. 


oppressive; — ^your  trouble  at  my  sickness  very 
unendurable  1  *  Can't  possibly  come  I'  You  do  me 
too  much  honor,  Miss  Margaret  Fox  I 

Well,  Ly  won't  get  mad :  He  can't.  He  loves  you 
too  much  ;  but  if  ever  God  spares  him  to  traverse  the 
Arctic  ice,  and  he  thinks  of  you  in  your  quiet  country 
home,  it  will  be  with  the  comfortable  feeling  of  con- 
viction that  you  won't  suffer  from  your  Lnve  for  him. 
No,  Maggie  I     You'll  never  die  of  too  much  heart  I 

"  Don't  rap  for  Mrs.  Pierce  (the  wife  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States).  Kemember  your  promise  to 
me.  A  promise  my  hand  has  just  told  me  has  been 
twice  broken  within  these  forty-eight  hours.  How 
much  oftener  I  don't  know. 

"  Begin  again,  dearest  Maggie,  and  keep  your  word. 
No  rapping  for  Mrs.  Pierce,  or  evermore  for  any  one. 
I,  dear  Mag,  am  your  best,  your  truest,  your  only 
friend.  What  are  they  to  my  wishes?  Oh,  regard 
and  love  me,  and  listen  to  my  words;  and  be  careful, 
very  careful,  lest  in  an  idle  hour  you  lose  my  regard 
and  your  own  respect. 

"  The  carriage  shall  call  for  you  to-morrow.  You 
need  not  rap  ;  I  had  rather  you  would  not.  Eeceive 
this  note  kindly  and  write  me  an  answer,  for  although 
my  hands  let  me  write,  I  am  very,  very  sick." 


LOVE-LIFE  OP  DR.   KANE. 


115 


The  above  seems  to  have  elicited  a  brief  reply, 
which  was  noticed  as  follows : 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  Dear  Sweet  : — Don't  trouble  yourself.  I  could 
not  be  angry  if  I  was  to  try.  I'm  very  sick,  but  think 
of  you  constantly.  Morton  will  come  up  every  day. 
Do  have  sometimes  a  kind  note  for  poor  Ly. 

"Bye  bye." 


Some  time  afterwards  this  note  was  written. 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  Dear  Maggie  : — I  am  delighted  at  the  chance  of 
seeing  you.  Come  alone,  if  Kate  cannot  accompany 
you. 

"  Treat  me  like  a  dear  brother,  without  reserve  or 
formality ;  and  do  not  see  them  until  you  see  me. 

"Do  have  neat  neck  and  arm  linen,  and  believe 
always  and  everywhere  in  the  confiding  love  of 

»Ly.'» 


The  carriage  waited  till  the  young  lady,  usually 
dilatory  in  dress  matters,  was  ready;  and  she  was 


h!'-' 


116 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


received  with  a  cordial  welcome  by  Mrs.  Grinnell. 
The  Doctor  was  lying  on  a  couch,  wearing  a  robe  of 
crimson  stuff.  The  sight  of  her  he  loved  revived  his 
spirits.  He  bade  his  kind  hostess  show  the  young 
lady  various  little  objects  of  curiosity ;  among  t.hem  a 
curious  mechanical  contrivance  by  which  a  little  bird 
of  gorgeous  plumage  was  made  to  fly  out,  plume  its 
feathers,  trill  a  song,  and  retire.  "  If  that  belonged 
to  me,"  whispered  Dr.  Kane  to  Margaret,  "  it  should 
be  yours."  They  talked  then  a  long  while  about  her 
going  to  school  and  the  various  studies  she  was  to 
pursue.  Mrs.  Grinnell,  as  Dr.  Xane  afterwards  said, 
was  very  much  pleased  with  his  young  visitor. 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


117 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  Dear  Maggie  : — ^Not  so  well  this  morning,  but 
very  glad  to  have  s-^en  again  the  light  of  your  eyes. 

"  Do  not  think,  darling,  that  I  don't  love  and  trust 
you ;  but  you  require  a  little  scolding  now  and  then. 

"  Tell  me  how  Mrs.  Pierce  got  on  1 

"  Mrs.  Grinnell  was  much  pleased  with  you.  Every 
body  who  really  knows  you,  is ;  for  my  Maggie  is  a 
lady ;  and  by  the  time  that  she  has  had  a  course  of 
Mrs.  Turner's  music  and  French,  nobody  will  know 
her  as  the  spirit-rapping  original  phenomenon. 

"  Write  me  daily.     Bye  bye." 

To  explain  the  allusion  to  Mrs.  Pierce,  it  may  be 
mentioned  that  the  wife  of  the  President  had  made  an 
engagement  to  call  on  Miss  Fox,  at  the  request  of 
Governor  Tallmadge  and  other  friends  in  Washington. 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  My  Dear  Darling  : — Your  sweet  note  did  me  as 
much  good  as  a  dozen  doctors.    Do  write  again.    I've 


118 


LOVE-LIPE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


been  and  am  still  very  sick.;  but  my  hands  let  me 
write  again. 

"  Always  have  faith  in  me,  dear  Maggie,  and  you 
shall  never  regret  it.  Once  distrust,  and  you  have  no 
claim  on  Ly.     Glad  that  your  bird  sings  so  well." 


Several  notes  like  the  following  were  written  during 
his  convalescence. 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  Deab  Maggie  : — ^I  am  really  sick,  but  the  day  is 
so  charming  that  I  think  a  ride  will  do  me  good. 

"  Will  not  you  and  Kate  jump  in,  and  I  will  try 
and  give  you  both  a  happy  day  I 

"  Don't  disappoint  me,  but  hurry. 

"  Give  my  respects  to  Mrs. and  tell  her  I  am 

sorry  that  I  was  unable  to  see  her  last  night." 


The  allusion  to  the  rappings  in  this  note  to  Miss 
Kate  is  a  mere  joke,  for  the  Doctor  n&ver  countenanced 
them  by  experiments. 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


119 


[Dr.  Kane  to  MIbs  Kato  Fox.  J 

"  Miss  Kate  Fox  : — A  carriage  will  call  for  you 
and  Miss  Maggie  at  one  o'clock.  Can  your  spirits 
thump  in  a  carriage  ?  If  they  cannot,  I  would  rather 
come  up  and  have  the  rappings  elsewhere. 

"  Do  not  disappoint  me.  I  have  some  important 
test  questions.    At  one  precisely. 

"  Your  Friend." 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  Dear  Maggie  : — ^I  send  you  a  carriage ;  perhaps 
—  will  take  an  airing.    After  you 


Kate  or  Mrs. 


have  had  about  an  hour's  ride  the  driver  will  call  for 
me,  and  I  will  join  you,  and  return  to  spend  the 
evening. 

"  Your  friend, 

"  E.  K.  Kane." 


The  observations  on  persons  in  these  letters  are  usu- 
ally quite  harmless,  but  must  occasionally  be  omitted, 
that  the  feelings  of  none  may  be  wounded. 


120 


LOVE-LIFE  OP  DR.   KANE. 


m 


I' 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  My  Sweet  Pet  : — I  send  your  letters.    Is  there 
anything  else  that  poor  sick  Zy  can  do  for  you  ?  *  *  * 


* 


* 


I  can't  be  playing  a  part  before  you, 

"  Dont  forget,  dear  Mag,  the  lock  and  the  sweet  long 
letter.    Have  it  at  Bond  Street  before  five  o'clock  p.m. 

"  If  you  can  go  to  the  theatre  with  Kate,  send  word 
by  bearer  on  a  scrap  of  paper,  and  I'll  have  a  box  for 
you  and  a  carriage  at  half-past  six  p.m.  Do  go,  dear 
darling  I  If  you  prefer  to-morrow,  say  so,  and  I'll 
call  to-night  and  see  my  little  bird. 

"  Maggie,  dear,  I  want  you,  if  you  possibly  can,  to 
go  to  the  theatre  to-night.  The  day  is  so  dreary  and 
I  feel  so  badly  that  I  long  for  a  long  talk  with  you. 
Tell  Kate  to  go,  and  let  me  call  for  you  in  a  carriage 
at  a  quarter  before  seven  o'clock  this  evening.  Do, 
dear  Mag  I" 


IDr.  Kane  to  Miss  Kate  Fox.] 

"  Dear  Katy  : — Will  you  go  to  the  theatre  to-night 
with  Mr.  G.,  your  sister,  and  myself? 

"  I  have  not  seen  you  for  three  days.    I  hope  you 
are  not  angry  with  your  friend 

"  Preacher. 

"  1  have  a  nice  private  box  for  you." 


LOVE-LIFE  OF   DR.   KANE. 


121 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  Maggie  Darling  :— All  last  night  did  this  good 
friend  of  yours  think  about  you  and  your  probable 
future. 

"  I  can  see  that  this  is  one  of  the  turning  points  of 
your  life,  and  upon  your  own  energy  and  decision 
now  depend  the  success  and  happiness  of  your  future 
career.  Dear  Maggie,  think  it  over  well,  and  do  not 
be  turned  aside  from  what  is  right  by  the  sincere  but 
still  misguided  advice  of  others. 

"  I  know,  dear  pet,  that  the  life  has  its  attractions. 
There  is  a  real  enjoyment  in  the  excitement  of  watch-; 
ing  and  working  for  the  conversion  of  the  skeptical. 
Do  not  think,  then,  that  poor  '  Ly '  blames  you  for 
this  natural  fondness  for  the  ingrown  habits  of  six 
years.  But  remember,  Maggie,  that  all  this  will  not  last. 
It  is  '/w?i '  now^  but  what  will  it  be  six  years  hence  I 
,  "What  will  it  be  when,  looking  back  upon  twelve  mis- 
spent and  dreary  years,  you  feel  that  there  have  been 
no  acts  really  acceptable  to  your  Maker,  and  that,  for 
the  years  ahead,  all  will  be  sorrow,  sameness,  and 
disgust !     Dear,  sweet  Maggie,  think  it  over  well. 

"  There  is  but  one  life  in  this  world — that  of  self- 
approval.  There  is  but  one  happiness — that  of  loving 
and  being  loved.  Where  will  you  meet  either  of 
these,  living  as  you  now  live  ? 

"  Why,  you  know  that  sometimes  even  now,  when 
is  cross,  or  the  company  coarse  and  vulgar,  or 


u 


m 


122 


LOVE-LIFE   OF   DH.    KANE. 


the  day  tiresome,  or  yourself  out  of  sorts,  that  low 
spirits  and  disgust  come  over  you,  and  you  long  like 
a  bird  to  spread  your  wings  and  fly  away  from  it  all. 
Dear,  sweet  pet,  I  am  going  soon  far  away — never, 
perhaps,  to  see  you  again  ;  certainly  never  as  a  spirit- 
rapper.  Do,  darling,  while  you  can,  spread  your 
wings,  fly  away,  and  be  at  rest. 
"  God  bless  you  I  "  ' 


IV 


i '  m 


vv  *    ;  [Dr.  Kane  to  Mlaa  Pox.] 

"Dear  Maggie: — I  thought  of  you  all  day, 
dreampt  of  you  nearly  all  night,  and  now  in  the 
bright  morning  time  am  thinking  of  you  still.  Don't 
be  discouraged,  my  dear  darling ;  things  will  be  right 
again.  Ly  will  not  desert  you,  and  this  temporary 
cloud  will  pass  away. 

"  The  more  I  think  of  it,  the  more  I  am  convinced 
that  I  did  right  in  speaking  of  your  affair  to  Mrs. 

.     She  misconstrued  my  motives,  and  replied  by 

insult.  Yet  I  did  as  a  gentleman  ought ;  and  now, 
conscious  of  my  rectitude  of  intention,  I  feel  as  if  I 
had  but  one  duty — that  of  guarding  your  interests 
and  watching  over  your  happiness.  Although  I  can- 
not enter  her  doors,  I  will  never  forget  the  dear 
friend  who,  reposing  confidence  in  my  word,  looks  to 
me  as  to  one  who  holds  her  happiness  in  his  hands. 


H 


LOVE-LIFE   OF  DR.    KANE. 


123 


Trjst  me,  dear  Maggie,  for  I  will  guard  you  as  a 
broti:er. 

"  Whatever  you  advise,  I  will  dc ,  and  I  await  your 
answer  by  Grinnell.  If  you  will  permit  me  to  speak 
about  the  arrangement  for  a  home  near  Philadelphia, 
I  will  do  it  at  once.  Only  write  me  your  wishes. 
Banished  as  1  am  from  you,  no  longer  pressing  your 
dear  lips  or  watching  your  glad  smile,  I  feel  as  if  I 
could  do  any  thing,  resign  any  thing,  to  see  you 
happy.  Only  say  to  me,  dear  darling,  what  you 
would  have  me  do. 

"I  send  my  friend  with  this,  to  defend  himself 
against  the  wicked  insinuations  of  that  woman.  Mag- 
gie, you  know  that  I  cannot  tell  a  falsehood.  Believe 
me,  then,  that  if  you  were  my  own  sister,  you  could 
.not  stand  higher  in  his  eyes  than  you  do.     I  have 

told  him  of  Mrs. 's  accusations,  and  he  is  shocked 

that  one  whose  character  is  so  known  as  mine  should 
be  so  assailed.  Do,  dear  Maggie,  have  confidence  in 
him.  I  have  told  him  how  much  I  regard  you,  and 
how  dear  to  my  wishes  it  would  be  to  take  your 
future  path  under  my  guidance. 

"  Maggie,  I  have  tried  to  comfort  you,  but  I  am 
sad  myself; — sad  and  sick.  I  miss  that  dear  Maggie, 
with  her  glossy  locks  upon  my  shoulders;  that 
wicked,  teasing,  spirit-rapping  Maggie  I  Oh,  dearj 
darling  pet,  when  can  I  see  you  I  I  leave  on  Mon- 
day, and  am  nearly  crazy  at  the  idea  of  not  bidding 
you  good-bye.     Yet  I  cannot  go  to 's  unless  she 


K 


124 


LOVK-LIFK  OF   DR.   KANE. 


apologizes,  and  even  then  but  once.  Do  try  and  see 
me.  I  leave  it  all  to  you.  Write  me  word  how  and 
when,  and  I  will  faithfully  meet  you ;  but  be  careful, 
darling,  for  I  would  not  harm  you  for  the  world. 

"  With  God's  blessing,  in  a  week  you  shall  be  free; 
but,  dear  Maggie,  you  must  help  me.  Never^  from 
this  hour,  the  raps  again  I     Never,  dear  Mag,  never ! 

*'  As  to ,  she  is  to  you  no  legal  guardian.  Your 

mother  is  everything.  If  I  do  my  duty,  and  you 
stand  firm,  all  will  be  right. 

"Bye  byol 


(( ( 


Ly.' 


"  Do  not  tell  any  one  that  I  leave  on  Monday  for 
Philadelphia.  It  will  have  a  good  effect  to  let  them 
think  me  in  town,  and  staying  away." 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


125 


XI. 

All  this  time  Dr.  Kane  had  talked  with  Mrs.  Fox 
about  sending  Mairgaret  to  school  during  the  years  of 
his  contemplated  absence,  and  hi*  1  at  length  obtained 
her  consent  to  this  cherished  project.  The  only 
thing  now  necessary  was  to  select  the  school.  Gene- 
ral Waddy  Thompson  wrote  to  recommend  one ; 
and  a  journey  was  projected  to  New  Haven  to  enquire 
about    schools    in    that  classic    locality ;    one  there 

having  been  highly  recommended  by  Bishop . 

The  Doctor's  plan  of  private  schooling  under  the 
care  of  his  aunt,  seems  not  to  have  been  at  first 
approved  by  Mrs.  Fox,  perhaps  because  it  would 
remove  Margaret  to  a  distance  from  all  her  friends. 

As  soon  as  Dr.  Kane  was  sufficiently  recovered,  he 
made  arrangements  for  this  journey.    He  wrote : 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Mias  Fox.] 

"Dear  Mag: — I  will  have  a  carriage  for  you 
punctually  between  four  and  half-past  four.  Bring 
Kate  with  you,  and  do  not  disappoint  your  friend ; 
for  I  will  call  for  you  in  person. 

"Tell  your  mother  that  on  Wednesday  we  will 
leave  for  New  Haven;  and  do  urge  upon  her  the 
importance  of  hastening  your  school  arrangements. 
I  am  deeply  anxious  to  see  you  fixed  finally  before 


126 


LOVE-LIFE   OF  DR.   KANE. 


I  leave;  and  my  time,  dear  child,  is  fully  occu- 
pied. 

"You  know  now  how  brotherly  my  feelings  are, 
and  how  pleasant  it  would  be  to  me — when  floating 
in  that  Arctic  waste — to  feel  that  I  had  contributed 
to  make  your  life  useful  and  happy. 

"  At  present  you  have  nothing  to  look  forward  to 
— nothing  to  hope  for.  Your  life  is  one  constant  round 
of  idle  excitement.  Can  your  mother — who  is  an 
excellent  woman — look  upon  you,  a  girl  of  thirteen,  as 
doomed  all  your  life  to  live  surrounded  by  such  as 
now  surround  you — deprived  of  all  the  blessings  of 
home,  and  love,  and  even  self-respect  ? 

"  Do  hasten  and  go  to  school ;  study  hard,  and  be 
a  useful  woman ;  an  honor  to  your  mother  and  your- 
self." 


Once  he  said,  playfully, — "  You  know  not  what  a 
great  man  is  your  '  Lish ! '  " ,  and  went  on  to  tell 
Maggie  how  he  had  breakfasted  with  Queen  Victoria 
when  he  was  in  England.  He  had  an  object  in  wish- 
ing to  increase  her  respect  for  himself,  inasmuch  as 
a  powerful  influence  was  needed  to  separate  her  from 
all  her  associates. 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


127 


The  following  note  to  Mrs.  Fox  was  in  relation  to 
the  visit  to  New  Haven.  / 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Mrs.  Fox.] 

"My  Dear  Madam: — The  cars  leave  for  New 
Haven  at  eight  A.  M.,  and  return  early  in  the  after- 
noon, reaching  New  York  by  nine  in  the  evening. 

"  This  will  leave  but  a  few  hours  for  business,  and 
I  will  have  to  work  hard  to  complete  the  arrange- 
ments. 

"  Tell  the  young  ladies  that  I  will  have  a  carriage 
for  them  punctually  at  seven  o'clock,  Monday  morn- 
ing, and  that  they  had  better  be  all  ready,  so  as  not  to 
delay.    They  can  pick  me  up  on  their  road  to  the 

cars.  . 

"Very  truly, 

"  Your  servant,  ^ 

"E.  K.  Kane. 
"Mrs.  Fox." 


[Dr.  Kane  to  BIIbs  Fox.] 

"  Dear  Maggie  : — Your  wishes  are  with  me 
always  binding.  I  do  not  think  that  you  can  look 
back  upon  a  wish  ungratified,  when  your  friend  had 
it  in  his  power  to  grant  it;  therefore,  darling,  of 
course,  bring  your  mother. 

"  The  carriage  will  be  with  you  at  seven  A.  M.    If 


M. 


128 


LOVE-LIFE   OF  DR.   KANE. 


Katy  would  go,  there  would  be  no  impropriety,  and 
I  have  often  said  that  I  take  the  same  care  of  you 
that  I  would  of  my  own  sister.  Do  therefore  exactly 
as  you  please. 

"  God  bless  you  I 

"Your  Friend. 

"  Answer  by  bearer." 


Mrs.  Fox  determined  to  accompany  her  daughter 
and  Dr.  Kane  to  New  Haven.  Another  missive  to 
Miss  Margaret  kept  her  in  mind  of  the  hour  of 
starting. 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  Send  me  word  what  your  mother  says  about  the 
dog,  as  I  have  to  give  the  man  an  answer  by  eight 
this  evening.  If  you  prefer  a  small  lap-dog,  or  a 
hairy  Newfoundland,  let  cousin  Peter  know,  for  your 
wishes  are  his  laws. 

"I  have  written  to  your  mother,  telling  her  to 
have  you  ready  by  seven  A.  M.  We  will  have 
precious  little  time  in  New  Haven.  Would  it  not  be 
well  to  tell  your  mother  that  we  may  come  back  by 
the  boat?     It  is  a  beautiful  journey  along  the  Sound. 

"  Be  assured  that  while  with  me  no  accidents  can 
happen.  I  will  not  only  be  '  very  good,'  but  I  will 
make  you  '  good'  too.     There ! 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


129 


"  Write  me  back  a  nice,  long,  loving  letter,  for  I 
cannot  see  you  to-day.  That  house  is  as  hot  as  a 
furnace,  and  as  uncongenial  to  a  person  of  refinement, 
as  a  tallow  candle,  or  a  lump  of  brown  soap. 

"  Especially  mention  in  your  letter  if  you  will  be 
ready  at  seven  o'clock. 

"  Remember  me  to  Kate,  and  ask  my  kind  and 
considerate  hostess  if  there  is  anything  that  I  can  send 
to  Mr.  — 


* 


"Always  respect  sickness,  dear  Maggie.  It  is 
God's  bitter  lesson;  preaching  to  mortals  their  frail 
hold  upon  the  dear  blessings  of  life.  No  one  in  full 
health  can  realize  the  awful  prospect  of  a  sudden  fall 
into  the  dark  regions — of  trite  spirits.  Maggie,  child, 
shun  sin — shun  hypocrisy;  shun  the  'preachers;' — 
injure  not  even  the  worm  that  crawls ;  but  live  and 
love,  and  be  happy. 

"Byebyel"  .  ,r      :       V 


The  quest  in  New  Haven  was  not  very  satisfactory. 
In  one  establishment  burning-fluid  was  used — a  very 
dangerous  thing ;  and  in  another,  none  but  an  upper 
room  could  be  procured.  The  Doctor  declared  he 
should  not  have  a  happy  moment  during  his  absence, 

*  The  gentleman  whose  sickness  is  alluded  to,  was  the  husband 
of  a  relative  of  Mrs.  Fox,  residing  in  26th  street. 

6* 


m 


\.  i 


130 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


if  his  little  girl  were  exposed  to  the  perils  of  explo- 
sive compounds.  Going  into  one  institute,  he  made 
Maggie  throw  back  her  veil;  he  seemed  always 
pleased  at  the  admiration  her  innocent  beauty 
awakened. 

The  subject  of  the  school  to  be  chosen  was  in 
agitation  while  Dr.  Kane's  last  preparations  for  the 
Arctic  Expedition  were  going  on.  Meantime,  in 
view  of  the  interference  that  had  already  caused  some 
unhappiness,  he  urged  Mrs.  Fox  not  to  heed  what 
outsiders  might  say :  but  to  depend  implicitly  upon  his 
judgment,  discretion,  and  honor.  They  would  in 
time  see  how  faithful  he  would  be  to  the  sacred  trust. 
One  day  he  came  to  the  house,  accompanied  by  his 
brother,  and  taking  Mrs.  Fox  aside,  requested  her  not 
to  say  a  word  about  the  marriage  before  that  gentle- 
man ;  while  in  his  brother's  presence  he  begged  her 
not  to  let  such  a  rumor  get  abroad  in  public,  on  her 
daughter's  account ;  adding,  "  my  brother  feels  like 
death  about  it." 


The  following  note  was  sent  immediately  after  the 
decease  of  the  relative  already  mentioned : 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 


"Dear  Mag: — I    send  Morton  to  you,  deeply 
regretting  that  I  cannot  come  in  person  to  cheer  your 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


181 


sadness.    I  shall  not  leave  for  Philadelphia  to-morrow, 
as  I  cannot  bear  to  leave  you  in  your  distress. 

"E.  K.  Kane." 


It  may  be  mentioned  that  Mr.  Morton  was  the  con- 
fidential friend  and  faithful  follower  of  Dr.  Kane,  and 
the  companion  of  his  Arctic  trp.vels.  He  was  highly 
regarded  by  Miss  Maggie,  whom  he  looked  on  with 
the  deepest  respect. 

Dr.  Kane  called  upon  the  family  very  soon  after- 
wards. While  stanaing  with  Margaret,  her  sister,  and 
others,  in  the  room  where  the  corpse  was  lying — 
moved  by  a  sudden  impulse — he  took  the  hand  of  his 
beloved,  and  called  t^  ose  present  to  witness  his  solemn 
vow  and  promise  that  she  should  be  his  wife  on  his 
return  from  the  Polar  seas ;  "  I  will  be  true  to  you'' — 
he  said,  "till  I  am  as  the  corpse  before  you,"  re- 
quiring a  similar  pledge  from  her.  He  seemed,  at 
times,  to  feel  that  the  bond  between  them  needed  this 
kind  of  seal,  as  the  engagement  could  not  be  publicly 
known.  A  little  jealousy — too,  is  perceptible  on  his 
part.    This  solemn  pledge  is  presently  referred  to. 

This  portion  of  a  letter  breathes  a  moralizing  spirit 
—shadowed  by  the  near  approach  of  the  parting  , 
hour. 


II 


leer  vour 


132 


LOVE-LIFE   OF   DR.    KANE. 


m. 
itii 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

*  *  "  What  gold  can  equal  the  self-approval  of  a 
good  conscience  1  And  what  are  we,  dear  Mag,  when, 
looking  back  upon  the  silent  years,  memory  lingers 
upon  no  good  deeds  done,  and  a  profitless  and  dreary 
old  age  stands  before  us  like  a  spectre  I 

"  Be  true  to  yourself,  and  even  as  a  loved  brother 
I  will  be  tru^  to  you,  until  I  am  as  the  corpse  before 
you. 

*  *  "  I  have  never  yet  left  a  wish  of  yours  ungra- 
tified,  and  if  I  can  help  it,  never  will.  You  therefore 
may  decide  for  me.     Shall  I  go  or  stay  ?" 

["  Shall  I  go  or  stay  ?"  was  often  his  question  to 
Maggie,  on  the  eve  of  any  important  movement.  He 
left  to  this  simple  girl  the  decision  of  the  most  re- 
markable acts  of  his  life,  sure  that  she  would  decide 
with  a  disinterested  view  to  his  honor  and  happi- 
ness.] 

"  It  is  hard  to  leave  you,  when  death  has  taken 
away  an  early  friend,  and  still  harder,  dear  Mag,  to 
feel  that  you  will  be  left  to  solitude  and  your  own 
sad  thoughts.  Still  I  feel  as  if  it  was  my  duty  to  go 
— and  I  know  that  my  dear,  well-trusted  little  Mag- 
gie will  not  counsel  me  to  do  wrong. 

"  I  will  call  upon  you  again  to-morrow,  exactly  "t 
twelve."     : 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


13S 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"Dear  Maggie  : — It  was  of  little  use  my  staying 
to  see  you,  for  I  am  worse  to-day,  and  the  doctor  will 
not  let  me  leave  my  room. 

"  Keep  up  your  spirits,  dear  darling,  and  expect 
to  see  me  to-morrow ;  for  I  will  not  leave  you  in  your 
sorrow. 

"  Eead  over  my  yesterday's  letter,  and  profit  by  its 
counsels.  Do,  dear  Mag,  take  advantage  of  this 
death^  to  renew  your  good  intentions.  Write  me  a 
letter,  solemnly  promising  never  to  rap  again.  Do, 
dear  Mag,  do  this ;  you  will  feel  happier  for  it.  Re- 
member in  this  awful  hour  of  death  the  fearful  sins 
and  sorrows  that  have  grown  out  of  that  girlish  trick. 
Think  how  the  little  stream  has  become  a  mountain 
torrent ;  and  when  the  great  God  punishes.  He  will 
go  to  the  fountain-head.  Do,  do,  dear  Pet,  make  me 
the  promise." 


This  appeal  met  with  a  prompt  response — as  ap- 
pears from  the  following  missive ;  though  few  copies 
of  Miss  Margaret's  letters  belonging  to  this  period 
were  preserved  by  her.    .4    4 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.]  .  ^  . 

"Dear  Mag:  —  Your  kind  promise  'solemnly 
never  to  rap  again '  so  pleases  me  that  I  cannot  help 


>  (i 


184 


LOVE-LIFE  OP  DB.   KANE. 


11 


thanking  you.  Adhere  to  that,  and  you  will  be  a 
dear,  good,  happy  girl,  and  secure  in  me  a  valued 
friend. 

"  Cheer  up,  dear  Mag.  I  am  not  going  to  bore 
you  with  any  more  sermons.    It  is  better  for  poor 

C that  he  be  in  the  silent  tomb  than  fighting  the 

grim  enemy  with  pain  and  sorrow.  He  died  a  be- 
liever in  the  spirits,  and  taking  comfort  in  his  delu- 
sion :  and  we  who  live  will  profit  by  his  death,  that 
our  own  helief  may  be  no  chimera,  but  a  hope  and  a 
blessing. 

"  What's  the  use  of  fretting  1  In  a  few  days  you 
will  be  »iurrounded  by  new  scenes  in  your  quiet  coun- 
try home.  There  will  be  plenty  of  people  around  you 
to  whom  you  can  extend  little  charities,  and  lay  up  a 
stock  of  pleasant  recollections  to  wipe  o\>i  the  past. 
I  should  laugh  to  see  you — *  Devil,'  as  I  often  call 
you — trudging  about  among  the  cottages,  blowing 
children's  noses,  and  giving  sugar-candy  to  the  babies. 
I  must  get  you  a  large  dog,  and  you  can  take  Tommy 
with  you. 

"  Keep  up  your  spirits.  I  will  come  and  see  you — 
God  willing — to-morrow.  In  the  meantime  eat  some 
of  these  nice  brandy  plums :  they  will  cheer  you 
up. 

"Some  day  or  other — Polar  ice  permitting — we 
will  thaw  out  in  Italy.  Dear,  sweet  Italy  I  land  of 
sunshine  and  flowers,  and  music  and  lovers  I  Look- 
ing from  some  high  mountain  down  upon  tranquil 


LOVE-LIFE  OP  DR.  KANE. 


185 


plains,  you  shall  forget  that  you  ever  cheated  old 
fogy  Waddy  Thompson,  or  rubbed  your  nose  red  for 

poor  C . 

"  Cheer  up !     Bye  bye. 

"  Am  I  not  a  good  fellow  I  sick  and  sad,  thus  to 
write  and  comfort  my  little  Mag  I" 


186 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


XIL 

The  family  of  Mrs.  Fox  went  to  Kochester  accom- 
panying the  remains  of  Mr. .     While  they  were 

there  this  letter  was  received  from  the  Doctor. 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  My  Dear  Maggie  : — You  were  right  in  going  to 
Eochester.    It  was  your  duty  to  gratify  the  wish  of 

Mrs. .    Never  think  that  I  will  not  sanction  a 

kind  or  a  just  act. 

"  Your  letter  fills  me  with  satisfaction.  Your  pre- 
sent tone  of  mind  is  what  I  have  longed  for,  and  I 
know  that  it  will  please  you  to  have  my  approval.  I 
do  not  often  praise  you ;  regard  it,  therefore,  as  some- 
thing beyond  mere  words,  when  I  say  that  you  are 
doing  right ;  and  if  you  adhere  to  your  good  resolves 
will  surely  have  your  reward.        ? 

"  No  matter  for  the  churches^  Maggie.  Live  a  life 
of  purity  and  innocence,  making  those  around  you 
happy ;  and  the  Oreat  God,  whose  mandate  is  '  Love 
one  another,'  will  love  you.  Many  happy  years  are 
ahead  of  you  to  wipe  out  the  memory  of  the  past ; 
and  surely  it  is  worth  something  to  have  the  support 
and  regard  of  one  steadfast  friend  like  myself. 

"  You  say  truly  that  life  is  not  long  at  the  longest; 
therefore,  dear  Mag,  seize  the  sunshine  while  it  lin- 


LOVE-LIFE  or  DS.   KANE. 


187 


gers,  and  make  the  most  of  its  fleeting  hours.  You 
know  my  opinions  often  expressed  to  you,  that  good 
deeds  are  the  best  offerings  to  the  '  Great  Author  of 
Good,'  and  that  if  we  lead  a  life  which  injures  no  one 
around  us,  which  has  for  its  aim  making  others  happy, 
dispensing  charities  and  covering  our  footsteps  with 
blessings,  such  a  life  will  have  its  reward,  church  or 
no  church.     ■ 

"  Believe  me  when  I  say  we  were  not  placed  in  this 
bright  world  to  wear  long,  solemn  faces,  and  turn  up 
our  noses  at  its  enjoyments  and  pleasures.  To  live, 
to  bv€j  to  enjoy ^  are  parts  of  the  great  religion  of  Ora- 
iitude^  which  tells  us  to  take  of  the  good  things  of  this 
world  :   for  '  to-morrow  ye  die^ 

"  Be  happy  then,  dear  Maggie ;  lean  upon  me,  and 
80  live  as  to  meet  my  approval.  You  will  be  then 
sure  of  your  own^  and  your  path  will  be  strewn  with 
flowers. 

"  I  cannot  promise  not  to  hold  up  my  hand  again, 
but  I  will  not  do  so  for  some  time.  I  confess  that  I 
was  deeply  pained  by  what  my  hand  told  me  for  the 

past  fortnight  in  connexion  with ;  but  I  never 

said  so  to  you.  Judge,  then,  how  glad  I  was  to  get 
your  solemn  promise.  Now  I  can  trust  and  confide 
in  you,  for  I  know  you  will  not  deceive  me,  nor  break 
a  pledge  given  in  the  presence  of  Death. 

"  Write  to  me  to  Philadelphia  (under  cover  to  my 
brother).  Your  letters  marked  '  Private,'  inside.  I 
am  about  the  same,  waiting  for  clear  weather  to  return. 


it 


188 


LOVK-LIFE  OP  DR.   KANE. 


"  Perhaps  you  bad  better  send  me  a  letter  also  to 
No.  17  Bond  street  I  do  not  leave  New  York  till 
Monday." 

Addressed  to  ,-  > 

Miss  Maqqib  Fox,  Rochester. 


[Dr.  Kane  to  MlM  Fox.] 

"  Dear  Maggie  : — Be  in  to-day  at  one  o'clock,  for 
I  am  going  to  make  an  effort  to  see  you,  and  fix 
finally  all  your  scbool  matters.         ^    ; 
"  Yours  always  with  my  blessing, 

"E.  K.  Kane." 


[Dr.  Kane  to  MIm  Fox.] 

**  My  Own  Dear  Maggie  :— Have  you  no  feeling? 
"Why  do  you  not  write  to  me  ?  Surely  you  cannot 
distrust  poor  Ly/ 

"  I  leave  to-morrow,  and  God  only  knows  when  I 
can  see  you  again.  K  you  can  see  me  on  Monday 
morning  I  should  prefer  it ;  for  then  I  could  go  to 
Philadelphia  by  the  two  o'clock  cars  with  my  brother. 

"  Answer. 

"  I  have  told  Mr.  Grinnell  to  get  from  your  mother 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


139 


a  positive  answer — *  yes  or  no' — to  my  hopes  of  pro- 
viding you  with  a  school  and  a  home.  I  must  have 
an  answer  when  I  see  you ;  for  I  want  either  to  fix 
matters  or  banish  it  for  ever. 

"  Do,  my  own  dearly  loved  Maggie,  decide  rightly 
confiding  in  the  purity  of  your  only  friend. 

"  Write  me  a  long,  loving  letter,  for  I  am  sick  and 
unhappy." 


1 

It  was  now  settled  that  Maggie  was  to  go  to  school 
at  Crookville,  and  was  to  be  under  the  charge  of  Dr. 
Kane's  aunt,  Mrs  Leiper,  residing  in  the  family  of  that 
lady's  intimate  friend  and  neighbor,  Mrs.  Turner. 
In  the  next  letter  Dr.  Kane  urges  the  hastening  of 
preparations.  , 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miu  Fox.] 

"  Dear  Maggie  : — If  to-morrow  be  clear,  and  my 
poor  body  permit,  I  will  call  at  half-past  twelve  to 
spend  a  parting  half  hour  with  you. 

"  I  am  going  for  a  few  days  to  Philadelphia — a 
visit  for  the  restoration  of  my  health.  Do,  dear  dar- 
ling, hasten  your  preparations,  for  I  want  to  see  you 
in  your  own  home  before  I  take  my  lonjr  er  journey. 

"  Have  you  received  your  trunk?  It  was  the  finest 
that  I  could  procure  in  New  York.    The  *  Children 


liili;'^. 


&  ;!■: 


140 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


of  the  Abbey '  will  come  to-morrow.     Is  there  any- 
thing else,  dear  darling,  that  I  can  send  you  ? 

"I  am  not  so  well  to-day — low-spirited  and  sad. 
Will  you  do  me  a  favor  ?  As  soon  as  Morton  hands 
you  this,  write  me  a  dear,  sweet,  loving  little  letter, 
and  sond  with  it  a  lock  of  your  hair.  It  will  soothe 
me  to  sleep.  Do  this,  dear  Mag.,  and  I'll  try  my  best 
merely  to  *  like  you.^ 

"Bye  bye." 


'fV 


"  Send  me  word  how  you  are.  Mr.  Grinnell  will 
probably  call  to-night.  Do  see  him,  dear  Maggie. 
Tell  your  mother  to  hasten  your  clothes,  etc.,  etc.,  for 
school." 


[Dr.  ]B[aue  to  Miss  Fox."] 

"  I  was  very  glad,  my  own  dearest  darling,  that  you 
contradicted  the  suspicions  of  my  hand.  My  haL  \ 
is  sometimes  completely  wrong,  and  I  had  a  great 
deal  rather  believe  you  than  it.  As  long,  dear  Mag- 
gie, as  you  love  me,  I  will  care  for  you,  and  never 
distrust  you  any  more. 

"  Now  that  you  are  about  to  leave  me,  I  begin  to 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


141 


feel  how  much  I  love  you.  How  anxiously  I  desire 
your  welfare  I  How  tremblingly  I  look  to  your  future 
course  I  Do  not  desert  the  memory  of  your  true 
friend ;  for  the  time  is  at  hand  when  you  will  see  him 
no  more.  When  raging  seas  and  fearful  ice  will  sepa- 
rate us,  and  a  cold,  cold  winter  freeze  out  the  warmth 
of  my  thoughts. 

**  It  would  be  very,  very  wicked,  after  what  has 
passed,  for  you  to  cease  to  love  me.  I  want  you, 
dear  Maggie,  to  respect  yourself  and  be  happy. 
You  cannot  do  this  if  you  consider  my  love  like  that 

of  others,  and  desert  your  friend  the 

" Preacher. 

"  Good-bye." 


"I  will  call  at  three  p.m.,  and  either  spend  the 
evening  or  ride,  as  you  and  Kate  may  desire.         *• 
"  Please  yourself,  and  you  will  please  me." 


The  little  yew  cC esprit  that  follows  was  written  just 
before  the  departure  for  school.  It  shows  the  opinion 
the  Doctor  just  then  entertained  of  the  young  lady's 
matter-of-fact  character,  contrasting  it  with  his  own 
romance  and  sentiment.    She  was  always  too  refined 


142 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


and  bashful,  however,  ever  to  say  "  confound  it,"  or 
to  use  any  such  expressions  as  are  imputed  to  her. 
These  must  be  attributed  to  poetic  licence. 


Dialogue  between  the  sentimental   "PreaCHEb"  and 

2>ractical  Maggie. 


Soeitb.-~Mrs. 


-'a  Pablob. 


1. 


PREACHER. 

Dearest,  may  thy  life  be  gilded  as  the  sunset  sky  1 

MAGGIE. 

I  really  think  I'd  like  a  "sassage;"  hand  me  one, 
dear  Ly. 

PREACHER. 

M^  thy  thoughts  be  free  from  passion  as  an  in- 
fant's dream  I 


Catch  it,  or 


MAGGIE. 

There's  a  pin  against  your  Maggie  I 
Fll  scream  i 

2. 

PREACHER. 

Maggie,    1  have  watched    the   feelings   welling  in 
thy  breast. 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


143 


as  an  in- 


MaGGIE. 

Confound  this  frock !  it  always  slips,  and  leaves  me 
half  undressed. 

PREACHER. 

IVe  often  longed  to  make  lifers  stream  a  fountain 
clear  and  bright. 

MAGGIE. 

How  can  I  fix  my  hair,  dear  Ly,  if  you  stand  in 
the  light  ? 

8. 

PREACHER. 

And  now  IVe  found  a  rural  home,  away  from  toil 
and  strife. 

MAGGIE. 

Yes,  and  an  ugly  governess  to  lead  me  "  such  a  life  I " 

PREACHER. 

A  home,  my  Maggie,  where  your  heart  and  mind 
will  grow  apace ! 

MAGGIE. 

And  nobody  but  country  bumpkins   come  around 
the  place  I 

PREACHER. 

A  home  of  peace,  where  every  thought  can  centre, 
love,  on  me. 


»t> 


11 


i 


144 


LOVE-LIFE   OF  DR.   i^ANE. 


MAGGIE. 

And    sour  old    maids,    and  rainy  days,    and  you 
upon  the  sea  1 

[Mcit  Preacher  in  a  huff,  and  Maggie 
laughing  as  she  sings  out  ^^  Italy  f 
Italy  /  Italy  / ''] 

Italy  was  often  talked  of  tib  the  country  to  which 
the  wedding  trip  should  be  made. 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"My  Dear  Maggie: — Mr.  Grinnell's  conversa- 
tion will  show  you  that  I  have  cared  for  you,  and 
kept  all  my  promises. 

"  Write  to  me  if  Wednesday  afternoon  will  do  for 
you  to  leave  New  York  with  your  mother. 

"  Never  do  wrong  any  more ;  for  if  now  *  the 
Spirits  move,'  it  vv^ill  be  a  breach  of  faith.  From  this 
moment  our  compact  begins. 

"  Bye  bye.     Your  friend  and  brother, 

"  E.  K.  Kane." 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


145 


In  another  note  he  says : 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  I  do  not  fear  a  dozen  Argus-eyed  s.    It  is 

because,  dearest,  I  do  not  wish  you  to  have  a  single 
pang  in  after  years.  I  would  not  have  you  ever 
repent  your  relations  with  Ly.  You  are  a  child  now, 
but  there  is  darkness  ahead.  Let  us  both  fight  against 
it.  Do  not  then  feel  sad ;  it  is  your  interest  alone 
that  I  would  guard  and  cherish. 

"  xi.rd  now,  dear  Maggie,  should  you  grow  very 
impatient  to  see  your  mother,  and  Mrs,  Turner 
approves  your  having  a  few  days'  rest  from  your 
studies,  write  to  Mr.  Grinnell,  and  he  will  be  your 
escort.    Always  confide  in  him;  he  is  a  gentleman. 

"  p^"  Remember  I 

"  Bye  bye. 

"  'LiSH." 


ii 


Maggie  was  sitting  for  her  portrait  to  Mr.  Fagnani ; 
a  portrait  which  Dr.  Kane  made  his  inseparable  com- 
panion in  his  Arctic  wanderings.  "When  toiling 
through  the  frozen  wastes,  he  would  not  even  permit 
Morton  to  carry  for  him  this  treasure ;  but  bore  it, 
in  its  frame,  strapped  on  his  back,  wherever  he  went, 
and  at  night  had  it  placed  by  his  couch  of  rest. 

7 


Ul 


I! 

i               '    '■ 

1:           ^.    ,,^-^jj^ 

'Hi 

il' 

'i^^Hb! 

r 

.  ^B^ilH 

!  '<,: 

:    'III 

Ill 


146 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


The  following  was  written  on  the  twenty-sixth  of 
May,  1853: 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  Dear  Maggie  : — You  will  sit  with  Mr.  Fagnani 
until  half-past  three  o'clock.  Morton  will  then  take 
you  home,  and  your  mother  must  be  all  ready  to  go 
at  once  with  you  to  the  cars.  There  you  will  meet 
me. 

"  On  no  account  fail,  for  I  can  accompany  you  on 
no  other  day.     Say  this  to  your  mother,  and  be  all 
.  ready.    Morton  will  not  leave  you  till  you  see  me. 

"  E.  K.  Kane." 


Dr.  Kane's  practical  wisdom  did  no  prevent  his 
sometimes  showing  a  slight  tendency  to  superstition. 
One  day,  taking  a  rosebud  Maggie  had  given  him, 
he  bade  her  open  her  mouth  to  catch  it ;  saying  that 
if  she  did  so,  it  would  be  an  omen  of  his  safe  return, 
and  of  their  wedded  happiness.  He  then  threw  it  to 
her,  and  was  well  pleased  to  have  it  caught.  He  did 
the  same  with  a  nut,  on  the  eve  of  his  departure  for 
England,  in  October,  1856. 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


147 


sixtli  of 


Fagnani 
then  take 
idy  to  go 
will  meet 

ly  you  on 
and  be  all 
see  me. 

Kane." 


revent  his 
perstition. 
yiven  him, 
jaying  that 
afe  return, 
threw  it  to 
kt. 


XIII. 

The  time  grew  fearfully  short.  The  preparations 
of  Mrs.  Fox  being  completed,  Dr.  Kane  escorted  her 
and  Margaret,  on  the  twenty-sixth,  as  far  as  Phila- 
delphia. They  stopped  at  the  Girard  House,  and 
supped  together  for  the  last  time  in  years. 

It  was  at  their  parting  that  Margaret  first  felt  how 
deeply  she  loved  the  man  who  had  shown  such  devo- 
tion to  her — such  tender  care  for  her  welfare.  The 
anguish  that  followed  his  departure  was  intolerable ; 
and  she  was  on  the  point  of  giving  up  the  idea  of 
going  to  school,  and  returning  to  her  friends  in  New 
York  to  seek  relief  from  overwhelming  distress.  But 
this  would  have  been  an  unkind  return  for  the  love 
lavished  upon  her.  Mrs.  Kemble's  lines  would  have 
been  applicable  in  her  case : — 

"  What  shall  I  do  with  all  the  days  and  hours 
That  must  be  counted  ere  I  see  thy  face  1 
How  shall  I  charm  the  interval  that  lowers 
Between  this  time  and  that  sweet  time  of  grace  I 


U 


"I'll  tell  thee :  for  thy  sake,  I  will  lay  hold 
Of  all  good  aims,  and  consecrate  to  thee 
In  worthy  deeds  each  moment  that  is  told, 
While  thou,  beloved  one !  art  far  from  ine. 


u 


148 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.  KANE. 


"  For  thee  I  will  arouse  my  thoughts  to  try 

All  heavenward  flights,  all  high  and  holy  strains ; 
For  thy  dear  sake  I  will  walk  patiently 
Through  the  long  hours,  nor  call  their  minutes  pains. 

"  I  will  this  dreary  blank  of  absence  make 
A  noble  task-time,  and  will  therein  strive 
To  follow  excellence,  and  to  o'ertake 
More  good  than  I  have  won  sin-ie  yet  I  live. 

"  So  may  this  doomed  time  build  up  in  me 

A  thousand  graces,  which  shall  thus  be  thine ; 
So  may  my  love  and  longing  hallowed  be, — 
And  thy  dear  thought  an  influence  divine." 


i     ■• 


On  the  twenty-seventh  of  May,  after  a  melancholy 
breakfast,  Mrs.  Fox  and  Margaret  stepped  into  the 
carnage  engaged  by  Dr.  Kane  to  convey  them  eight- 
een miles  into  the  coantry,  to  the  house  of  Mrs.  Tur- 
ner. The  words  of  'jer  lover — "  It  is  too  near  our 
parting  " — ^had  sunk  deeply  into  the  heart  of  the  poor 
girl,  and  it  was  almost  with  dismay,  as  she  drew  near 
her  future  abode,  she  realized  that — shut  out  from  the 
world  in  this  retired  spot — she  had  also  lost  the  sun 
of  her  heart's  world :  that  she  should  no  more  hear 
the  voice  of  him  she  now  loved  with  an  ardor  scarcely 
less  than  that  of  his  own  attachment  to  her.  The 
clasp  of  his  hand — his  tender  looks — how  they  lin- 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KaNE. 


149 


gered  in  her  memory  !  But  it  was  a  consolation  to 
think  that  in  remaining  here  she  was  fulfilling  his 
dearest  wish ;  that  his  aunt,  to  whose  care  she  had 
been  consigned,  was  in  her  immediate  neighborhood, 
and  that  she  might  sometimes  hear  from  her  beloved 
— at  least  till  the  Arctic  ice  separated  them. 


The  following  brief  extract  is  made  from  her  jour- 
nal:— 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  twenty -seventh  of  May, 
1863. — After  a  tedious  drive  of  four  hours,  I  arrived 
at  Crookville — a  manufacturing  village  situated  on 
Ridley  Creek,  and  distant  about  eighteen  miles  from 
Philadelphia.  After  various  inquiries  I  reached  the 
house  which  was  to  be  my  home  until  Dr.  Kane's 
return  to  this  country.  With  me  first  impressions 
have  much  weight,  and  in  a  measure  determine  my 
future  feelings  in  regard  either  to  houses  or  their  in- 
habitants. Accordingly,  I  looked  anxiously  at  the 
pretty  and  unpretending  dwelling  which  my  beloved 
had  selected  as  my  abode,  and  mentally  I  wondered 
whether  its  inhabitants  were  as  tasteful  and  neat  as 
their  little  home  appeared  to  be.  A  few  words  will 
suffice  to  describe  this  peaceful  spot.  The  house  is 
surrounded  by  a  picket  fence,  enclosing  about  an  acre 


150 


LOVE-LIFE   OF   DR.   KANE. 


I» 


i« 


of  ground,  which  is  very  afltefully  laid  out  in  front 
with  flower-beds  contair^iog  many  rare  and  beautiful 
specimens.  Handsome  trees  offer  an  agreeable  shTide, 
while  a  pretty  piazza  covered  with  honeysuckles  and 
roses  forms  a  most  inviting  entrance." 


On  returning  to  New  York  Dr.  Kane  wrote  :- 


A* 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Mies  Fox.] 


"My  own  dear  Darling: — I  arrived  here  this 
morning  very  tired,  bit  with  thoughts  which  excluded 
fatigue.  Mrs.  Walters  I  will  see  this  afternoon,  and 
send  on  the  bird  and  other  forgotten  treasures  by  the 
early  boat.  They  wiP  be  in  Chester,  care  of  Sam 
Smithy  by  Tuesday  afternoon. 

"  On  the  same  day,  dear  Maggie,  my  little  bark 
will  be  ploughing  the  trackless  sea.  Will  it  be  fol- 
lowed by  your  thoughts  and  prayers  ? 

"When  I  think  of  our  parting  evening — its  last 
hour,  its  last  minutes — I  am  oppressed  with  the  un- 
real vagueness  of  a  dream.  Oh,  my  Maggie,  think 
of  me — always  think  of  me — with  respect  I  Cling  to 
me — always  cling  to  me — with  love !  Lean  on  me, 
hope  in  me,  bear  with  me — tritst  me  !  Let  us  remem- 
ber the  passing  moments  which  time  itself  cannot  de- 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


161 


stroy ;  moments  sacred  to  aflfection,  confidence,  and 
love. 

"  And  now,  dear  Maggie,  my  own  dear  Maggie, 
live  a  life  of  purity  and  goodness.  Consecrate  it  to 
me.  Wear  no  garb  upon  which  even  the  breath 
of  an  angel  could  leave  a  stain.  Thus  live,  dear 
Maggie,  until  God  brings  me  back  to  you ;  and  then, 
meeting  my  eye  with  the  proud  consciousness  of  vir- 
tue, we  will  resign  ourselves  to  a  passion  sanctified 
by  love  and  marriage.  Golden  fields  shall  spread  be- 
fore us  their  summer  harvest — silver  lakes  mirror 
your  very  breath.    Let  us  live  for  each  other. 

"  Farewell. 

"  E.  K.  Kane." 

*'  P.  S.  Write  up  to  the  last  moment ;  they  will 
tell  you  when  we  leave,  at  eleven  A.  M.,  Tuesday. 
Don't  forget  letters  regularly. 

"K." 


On  the  return  of  Mrs.  Fox  from  Philadelphia  to 
New  York  on  the  twenty -seventh  day  of  May,  she 
was  called  on  by  Dr.  Kane,  who  learned  from  her 
how  distressed  his  poor  Maggie  had  been,  and  in  how 
disconsolate  a  condition  she  remained  at  school.  He 
could  not  bear  this ;  but,  short  as  his  time  was,  re- 


it  ti 


162 


LOVE-LIFE  OF   DR.   KANE. 


solved  on  another  journey  to  Crookville  to  snatch  ft 
few  moments  and  have  a  last  parting  with  one  so 
deeply  loved.  He  took  with  him  the  little  bird  re- 
ferred to,  which  was  named  after  him ;  but  unfortu- 
nately lost  it  in  Philadelphia.  It  was  recovered, 
however,  on  his  return,  as  related  in  the  next  missive. 


-.'  <>■ 


[Dr.  Kcno  to  Mlu  Fool] 

"  My  Dear  Maggie  : — Upon  my  return  to  Phila- 
delphia I  offered  a  reward,  and  succeeded  in  obtain- 
ing our  little  bird.  Thus,  dear  Maggie,  you  see  that 
every  thought,  every  wish,  is  met  by  me.  Never 
doubt  my  love. 

"Guard  and  cherish  the  little  wanderer  thus  re- 
turned to  the  fold.  Make  it  an  evidence  of  my 
thoughtful  attention  to  your  every  wish.  An  em- 
blem, too,  dear  darling,  of  my  own  return,  whep, 
after  a  dreary  flight,  I  come  back  to  nestle  in  your 
bosom. 

"  Dispel  all  doubt,  dear  Maggie.  Never  reprove- 
never  think  unkindly.  The  day  will  come — bright 
as  sunshine  on  the  waters — when  I  claim  your  hand, 
and  unrestrained  by  the  trammels  of  our  mutual 
dread,  live  with  you  in  peace,  tranquillity,  and  affec- 
tion. 

"Be    good  and    pure.    Eestrain    every  thought 


LOVK-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


153 


which   interferes  with  a  guileless  life,  and  live   to 
prove  by  your  improvement  your  love  for 


A  sad  parting,  in  truth,  was  this ;  though  full  of 
youthful  hope.  Mrs.  Turner  could  not  fail  to  see 
liow  deep  and  sincere  was  the  Doctor's  love  for  her 
young  charge. 


164 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DB.  KANE. 


»' 


XIY. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Dr.  Kane  sailed  on  the 
30th  May,  1853,  from  New  York.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  follow  his  progress  northward;  "this  round  un- 
varnished tale"  having  reference  only  to  his  "  course 
of  love."  The  uncertainty  that  hung  over  his  return 
was  se/erely  felt  by  her  whom  he  found  it  hardest  to 
leave  of  all  on  earth.  Sho  treasured  all  the  news- 
paper articles  she  could  find.  One  of  these  dolefully 
said  : — "The  experience  of  all  Polar  travellers  seems 
to  show  that  after  the  first  winter  in  that  region,  the 
adventur.er's  effective  energies  are  so  subdued  as  to 
render  him  practically  worthless.  Dr.  Kane,  there- 
fore, though  untrammelled  by  instructions,  is  strongly 
advised  to  return  in  eighteen  months.  And  should 
two  winters  pass  over  the  party  ere  we  hail  their  re- 
turn to  receive  the  reward  which  is  their  due,  our 
people  will  not  fall  into  the  English  error  of  waiting 
four  years  in  doubt  as  to  their  condition — ^but  will 
send  at  once  a  party  to  determine  their  fate." 

Not  long  afterwards  Margaret  received  a  letter— as 
follows — from  the  friend  to  whom  Dr.  E^e  had 
entrusted  her  matters. 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.    KANE. 


156 


grs  seems 


[Mr.  Orl&nell  to  MIm  Fox.] 

"Dear  Miss  Fox: — I  have  received  your  two 
letters ;  the  latter  informing  me  that  you  had  not  yet 
received  your  trunks — which  quite  surprises  me.  I 
have  this  morning  written  to  your  mother  concerning 
them,  and  if  I  can  find  time,  I  will  go  to  see  her  this 
evening.  I  am  sorry  to  hear  that  you  have  lost  your 
little  bird.  I  will  send  you  another  in  the  Doctor's  name. 
You  will  have  seen  by  the  papers  which  I  sent  to 
you  (and  which  you  doubtless  received),  how  well  the 
expedition  went  off.  The  day  was  beautiful,  and 
every  man  was  in  town  at  the  appointed  hour.  4s 
the  vessel  passed  along  the  wharves  of  the  North 
River,  she  was  saluted  with  cheers  from  the  crowds 
assembled,  and  by  guns  from  the  shipping.  Two 
steamers  accompanied  us  to  sea,  filled  with  people 
The  Doctor  was  in  good  spirits,  and  was  quite  well, 
having  entirely  recovered  from  his  rheumatic  attack. 

"  They  intend  to  touch  at  St.  John's,  Newfoundland, 
for  fresh  meats, — whence  we  may  expect  to  hear  from 
them  in  about  a  fortnight. 

"  I  will  send  the  bird  the  first  opportunity,  and 
should  any  letters  arrive,  they  shall  be  forwarded. 

"  I  am  very  truly  yours, 

"C.  Grinnell." 


li 


i 


156 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.  KANE. 


Mr.  Grinnell  wrote — June  2l8t,  1853 : 


[Mr.  Grinnell  to  Miu  Fox.] 

"You  will  be  pleased  to  hear  that  'The  Advance' 
was  spoken  with  on  the  6th  inst.  off  Sable  Island, 
about  half  way  to  Newfoundland.  She  was  going  off 
at  a  fine  rate,  and  the  Doctor  reported  *  all  well.'  We 
may  look  for  a  letter  from  him  in  the  course  of  this 
week. 

"  The  weather  to-day  is  excessively  hot ;  the  ther- 
mometer in  the  shade  standing  at  90.°  I  hope  you 
received  your  trunks.  I  wrote  to  your  mother  con- 
cerning them." 


!l!vi 


'>,■■ 


The  expected  letter  from  Dr.  Kane  duly  arrived, 
and  the  following  was  forwarded  to  Crookville  by 
Mr.  Grinnell.  Some  reference  is  made  therein  to  re- 
cent censures  passed  about  Margaret's  abandonment 
of  spiritualism,  and  her  isolation  from  her  family  and 
friends  for  a  lover's  sake.  The  pooi  girl  was  extremely 
sensitive  to  gossip  of  this  kind. 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


157 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox  ] 

"  Just  standing  out  to  sea. 

"  Maggie,  my  own  sweet  pet,  be  comforted.  I  know 
you  to  be  always  good  and  pure,  and  I  would  sooner 
die  than  allow  a  breath  of  suspicion  to  tarnish  your 
fair  fame.  Your  letter  gave  me  pain — pain  because  it 
showed  me  that  you  were  unhappy.  Oh,  my  Maggie, 
be  not  sad ;  accuse  not  me  of  unkindness ;  talk  not 
thus  of  your  Italian  dream.  You  shall  be  to  me  as 
a  cherished  sister. 

"  To-day  came  your  Sunday's  letter — dear  comforter 
to  my  wounded  heart  1  Thank  you,  dear  Petiel 
Thank  you  1  Never  shall  you  have  cause  to  ropent 
of  me ;  never  shall  you  say  that  I  was  not  worthy  of 
your  trust  and  love. 

"Do  be  comforted,  my  own  angel—life  of  my  soul 
—joy  of  my  sad  trials  I  Grieve  not  I  Live  the  life 
of  pure    happiness  for  which  you  were  destined. 

Regard  me  as  a  brother anything  but  as  one 

to  be  accused  and  mourned  for. 

"  Grinnell  will  watch  over  you.   Answer  his  letters. 

In  a  week  you  will  hear  from  me  again.     Write  to 

me  within  the  next  three  days  a  long,  long  letter.    It 

will  reach  me  at  Newfoundland.    Do  not  grieve,  but 

trust 

"  E.  K.  Kane. 

"  Have  a  care  of  my  letters,  darling." 
Miss  Mabqaret  Fox,  Chester,  Pa. 

At  Mr.  Turner's,  Crookville. 


II 


158 


LOVE-LIFK  OF  DR.   KANE. 


In  the  next  letter  Dr.  Kane  perhaps  refers  to  the 
same  complaining  letter  fror^  the  lonely  girl  he  had 
separated  from  all  her  friends,  and  to  the  livelier  mis- 
sive that  followed  it. 


m 


lii' 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Hiss  Fox.] 

"  At  Sea,  June  13th,  1863. 

"  Dear  Darling  Maggie  :— Your  one  cruel  letter 
was  so  beautifully  erased  by  the  kind  one  which  fol- 
lowed it,  that  any  unhappiness  which  it  might  have 
caused  vanished  like  morning  mists  before  the  sun- 
shine. One  thing,  however,  pained  me.  The  letter 
showed  me  that  you  were  unhappy. 


"  For  six  months  have  I  faltered  in  proofs  of  pure 
regard  and  love  ?  Have  you  ever  txpressed  before 
me  an  ungratified  wish  ?  Have  I  ever  said  a  word 
uncalculated  to  elevate  you  ?  ever  spoken  of  you  to 
others  but  in  terms  such  as  a  brother  might  speak  of 
a  sister  ?     In  everything  I  made  you  my  equal. 


"  Live  and  bloom  in  purity  as  a  flower  kissed  only 
by  the  morning  dew.  One  thing  you  can  never 
doubt:   it  is  the  truth  of  him  who  writes.    Let  it 


LOVE-LIFE  OP  DR.  KANE. 


159 


then  be  as  the  bright  sun  upon  the  dewdrop,  drink- 
ing up  its  waters  into  high  heaven,  and  leaving  the 
flower  unsullied  by  a  caress.  Be  happy  and  true. 
Strive  to  live  that  life  which  is  its  own  reward ; — 
make  the  well-spent  moments  pave  the  future  with 
blessings ; — and  if  ever  on  the  eve  of  wrong,  let  this 
be  your  guard :  "  Would  dear  '  Lish  like  me  to  do 
this?" 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Mln  Fox.] 

*  *  "Now,  dear  Petie^  let  us  talk  of  pleasanter 
tilings.  I  think  I  see  you  in  that  quiet  old  country- 
house — counting  time  by  the  village  clock  which 
rises  above  the  willows.  Or,  better  still,  I  think  I 
see  you  under  the  shade  of  some  drooping  chestnut, 
startling  the  birds — ^your  playfellows — with  dreamy 
tokens  from  the  spirit-world.  There  imagine  me  by 
your  side,  and  I'll  answer  all  your  questions. 

"  First, — about  the  *  German.'  Study  German  by 
all  means.  You  say  truly  that  it  is  a  noble  language 
with  a  glorious  literature ;  but  apart  from  all  this,  / 
know  nothing  of  German,  and  I  want  you  to  be 
ahead  of  me  in  something  better  than  good  looks  and 
spirit-trances. 

"  You  can  scold  me  in  German,  flirt  with  country 
bumpkins  in  German,  write  naughty  letters  to  me  in 


160 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


German,  and  Til  be  none  the  wiser.    Study  the  lan- 
guage by  all  means. 

"  Now  for  advice.  Don't  be  afraid : — advice  as  to 
school  matters. 

"  If  you  ask  me  to  name  the  first  branch  in  impor- 
tance, let  it  be  a  good  English  foundation.  Your 
own  language,  and  the  history  and  literature  of  the 
two  great  countries  speaking  it.  Next,  music ;  espe- 
cially that  voice  of  yours ;  and  lastly,  languages  not 
so  ne.ar  home. 

"  Exercise  at  least  three  hours  a  day  in  the  open 
air — wet  or  dry,  rain  or  shine.  Don't  spare  me  with 
the  shoemaking  fraternity.  Fun  I  regard  as  an  essen- 
tial element.  Don't  mope  like  a  sickly  cat.  Why, 
Mag,  I  don't  want  to  make  a  school-girl  puppet— a 
strait-laced  artificial  automaton  of  you  ;  —  a  mere 
hand-organ  to  grind  out  languages,  and  music,  and 
long  words  I  My  only  positive  injunction  to  you  is 
to  exercise  often,  laugh  when  you  can,  grow  as  fat  as 
you  please ;  and  when  I  return — God  granting  me 
that  distant  blessing — when  I  return,  bowed  down 
with  the  Polar  frosts,  let  me  have  at  least  the  reward- 
ing consciousness  of  having  done  my  duty. 

"  One  thing  more :  should  any  trouble  come  to  you 

— anything  unforeseen,  make your  adviser  and 

friend.  I  need  not  speak  his  name.  Call  upon  him 
as  one  having  my  confidence,  and  therefore  deserving 
yours. 

"  If  at  the  end  of  four  months  you  wish  to  tiy 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


161 


another  schoo  girl  life,  you  are  untrammelled.  Do 
entirely  as  you  please.  North  Carolina  or  Albany 
is  before  you  ;  and  if  the  former,  which  I  should  pre- 
fer, write  to  Dr.  Hawks  stating  your  intention,  and 

Mr. will  give  you  funds ;  so  that  Mr.  Turner 

can  escort  you.  One  final  wish — the  only  thing  like 
restraint  that  your  true  friend  can  find  it  in  his  heart 
to  utter:  See  little  of  *  *  *,  and  never  sleep 
wiOvin  Jier  Iiouse. 

"  God  bless  you  I 

"E.  K.  Kane. 
"  You  see  that  I  trust  you." 


Mr.  Grinnell  wrote : 

"July  9th,  1853. 

"Dear  Miss  Fox: — I  am  about  leaving  town,  and 
have  only  time  tc  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your 
note  of  the  5th  inst.,  and  trust  that  ere  this  you  have 
received  the  letter  forwarded  to  you  a  few  days  since 
from  Dr.  Kane.  He  sailed  from  St.  John's  on  the 
17th  ult.  for  Greenland. 

.      "lam, 

Very  truly  yours, 

"  C.  Grinnell." 


u 


jr-iT'-Tt.      "«»- 


162 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


On  the  10th  August,  1853,  Mr.  Grrinnell  wrote 
from  the  yacht  "  Albion  "  in  the  harbor  of  Newport, 
R.  I.: 

"  We  have  heard  nothing  from  Dr.  Kane  since  I 
forwarded  his  last  letter  to  you.  We  shall  probably 
hear  from  him  again  in  October  from  Greenland  by 
Capt.  Inglefield  in  the  Phoenix,  or  perhaps  by  the 


On  the  23d  of  the  same  month,  he  writes,  in  rela- 
tion to  a  proposed  change  in  Margaret's  school  which 
would  bring  her  nearer  her  New  York  friends : 

"  As  regards  your  leaving  Mrs.  Turner's  for  Mrs. 
Willard's  of  Troy,  if  my  advice  were  asked,  I  should 
say  decidedly — remain  where  you  are  at  present; 
since  you  find  Mrs.  Turner's  so  comfortable  and 
pleasant  in  all  respects,  whereas  at  Mrs.  Willard's 
you  might  not  enjoy  yourself  so  much.  And  aa  far 
as  your  education  is  concerned,  it  appears  to  me  that 
nothing  could  be  better  than  the  course  you  are  now 
pursuing  at  Mrs.  Turner's.  I  am  desirous,  however, 
of  following  the  wishes  of  Dr.  Kane,  and  would  take 
the  liberty  of  advising  you  to  think  well  of  tho  mat- 
ter before  you  decide  to  make  a  change.  We  cannot 
expect  to  receive  letters  from  the  Doctor  until  Sep- 
tember or  October  " 


It  I 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.    KANE. 


16S 


Again,  a   few  days   after — approving   Margaret's 
determination  to  remain  at  Crookville — he  says  : 

"  We  shall  probably  hear  from  Dr.  Kane  by  the 
end  of  next  month  " 


The  deference  to  her  wish  to  hear  continually  from 
the  absent  one  thus  shown  to  Margaret  hy  "Dr.  Kane's 
most  trusted  friend,  evinces  his  knowledg  •  o  the  en- 
gagement existing  between  them.  To  ^^v.  brrinnell 
Dr.  Kane  had  entrusted  the  funds  to  be  forwarded  to 
Miss  Fox  from  time  to  time,  to  meet  the  expenses  of 
ber  school  bills. 

Dr.  Kane's  aunt,  Mrs.  Leiper,  occasionally  saw 
Miss  Fox,  enquired  concerning  her  progress  in  her 
studies,  and  seemed  much  interested  therein.  Once 
at  her  own  house,  she  made  the  young  lady  play  for 
her,  to  see  how  she  was  getting  on  with  her  music. 

The  sorrow  of  the  poor  girl  so  affected  her  health 
that  it  was  thought  prudent  to  permit  her  to  take  a 
short  vacation  to  visit  her  friends  in  New  York. 
Br.  Bayard,  a  distinguished  physician,  advised  it ;  and 
Mrs.  Walter,  a  sister  of  the  Hon.  John  Cochrane,  and 
connected  by  marriage  with  Bishop  Potter's  family, 
came  to  Crookville  for  her,  and  brought  Margaret 
to  spend  some  days  at  Mrs.  W 's  house  in  Clin- 


i( 


i 


164 


LOVE-LIFE  or  DR.    KANE. 


ton  Place.  Here  she  suffered  from  a  severe  illnoRs 
brought  on  by  mental  disquiet.  The  following  letter 
is  from  heT  friend  Mrs.  Turner,  the  mother  of  her 
governeea. 


[Mn,  Tamer  to  MiM  Fox.] 

=  '  *  • 

November  6th,  1853. 

"Little — my  dear  child — did  I  dream  that  you 
were  tossing  on  a  fevered  bed,  or  1  would  have  writ- 
ten to  you  before  this.  It  is  very  sad  to  think  that 
you  went  for  so  brief  a  space  to  enjoy  the  society  of 
your  friends,  and  were  stricken  down  with  such  a 
malady.  But  if  we  could  but  bring  our  rebellious 
hearts  to  think  so  at  the  time,  every  event  which 
happens  to  us  is  for  the  best.  Had  you  been  taken 
ill  here,  3^ou  know  how  difficult  it  would  have  been 
to  obtain  good  medical  advice ;  now  you  are  among 
friends  and  relations,  and  have  the  advice  of  your 
own  physician,  which  will  go  a  great  way  in  effecting 
a  cure.  Therefore  cheer  up.  You  have  youth  on 
your  side ;  but  when  you  are  able  to  rise,  you  must 
be  very  careful  for  fear  of  a  relapse ;  and  when  you 
are  quite  convalescent,  you  will  have  to  work  harder 
than  ever,  to  make  up  for  lost  time. 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  by  the  papers  that  there  have 
been  satisfactory  accounts  of  our  mutual  and  far  dis- 


LOVE-LIFE  OF   DR.    KANE. 


166 


tant  friend.     When  you  are  able,  I  will  expect  a  long 
letter  from  you.    In  the  mean  time, 

"  I  remain  your  affectionate  friend, 

"S.  Turner." 


The  same  lady,  uneasy  at  the  prolonged  absence  of 
her  pupil,  thus  wrote : 

[Mrs.  Turner  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  Crookvillb,  Dec.  12th,  1863. 

"  My  Dear  Margaret  : — Not  having  received 
any  communication  from  you  since  I  wrote  to  you 
last,  I  am  feeling  many  anxieties  on  your  account. 
If  you  were  laid  on  a  bed  of  sickness,  surely  you 
would  get  some  friend  to  write  a  few  lines  to  me 
mentioning  your  situation.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
your  health  is  quite  re-established,  and  you  are  merely 
remaining  to  indulge  in  the  gaieties  of  the  city,  you 
should  write  to  me  yourself.  You  know  I  am  always 
willing  to  make  every  reasonable  allowance  for  young 
people ;  but  my  indulgence  has  a  limit.    *     *     * 

"  And  now,  dear  Margaret,  I  come  to  a  part  of  the 
subject  about  which  I  feel  very  much  concerned.  On 
the  last  interview  which  I  had  with  Dr.  Kane,  I  pro- 
mised to  be  like  a  mother  to  you  while  under  my 
charge ;  to  cultivate  your  understanding,  and  enable 


166 


LOVE-LIFK  or  DR.   KANE. 


you  to  call  forth  those  latent  energies  which  lay  dor- 
mant through  neglect ;  and,  above  all,  to  guard  you 
from  influences  which  might  prove  hostile  to  your 
progress  in  the  attainment  of  those  virtues  and  accom- 
plishments which  are  indispensable  to  the  female  cha- 
racter. I  endeavored  to  fulfil  my  promise,  and  your 
progress  was  in  some  respects  highly  satisfactory  to 
me.  But  how  shall  I  account  to  that  noble-minded 
friend  for  this  cessation  from  well-doing — or,  to  use  a 
harsher  term,  this  lapse  from  duty  I  Ask  your  own 
heart  if  it  be  right." 


Mrs.  W thus  replied  to  Mrs.  Turner's  letter : 

[Mrs.  W to  Mrs.  Tamer.] 

"My  Dear  Mrs.  Turner: — Maggie  is  very 
much  distressed  by  the  contents  of  your  last  letter ; 
although  it  may  seem,  from  her  not  having  informed 
you  fully  of  the  reasons  for  her  remaining  here  so 
long,  that  you  had  just  cause  for  censure. 

"I  am  happy  to  disabuse  your  mind.  She  has 
been  far  from  well,  and  under  the  medical  care  of  Dr. 
Edward  Bayard — brother  of  the  Hon.  James  Bayard, 
late  Minister  to  Brussels — who  has  thought  it  impor- 
tant for  her  to  remain ;  indeed,  it  is  only  within  the 
last  few  days  that  she  has  looked  at  all  like  herself. 
Neither  has  she  partaken  of  the  amusements  and 


LOVE-LIFE  OP  DR.   KANE. 


167 


gaieties  of  the  city,  not  having  inclination  nor  the 
strength  for  them.  Her  associations  have  been  of 
the  most  refined  character,  such  as  I  know  Dr. 
Kane  riid  yourself  v;ould  most  highly  approve  of; 
and  although  her  absence  from  her  studies  is  to 
be  regretted,  I  trust  her  time  has  not  been  alto- 
gether misemployed.  We  were  all  delighted  with 
Maggie's  improvement,  showing  the  great  care  and 
tenderness  bestowed  upon  her.  Your  letter  only 
proves  what  a  sincere  friend  you  are  to  her. 

"You   will   rejoice   to   hear  that  your  fears  are 
groundless.     Could  you  have  witnessed  the  distress 
mingled  with  the  strong  affection  she  feels  for  you, 
on  reading  your  letter,  you  would  have  loved  her 
more  than  ever,  as  I  confess  I  did.     Some  of  the  ele- 
ments of  Maggie's  character  are  very  beautiful,  and 
with  the  cultivation  she  has  been   receiving  while 
under  your  care,  will  make  her  all  that  her  best 
friends  wish  her  to  be.    She  will  leave  here  two 
weeks  from  to-morrow ;  and  if  anything  unforeseen 
should  occur  in  the  mean  time,  to  change  the  day, 
she  will  inform  you.    Hoping  that  this  will  relieve 
your  mind  concerning    Maggie,  believe  me,   with 
great  respect, 

"  Yours  truly, 

Ellen  W— 


It 


>» 


"I  would  add,  the  reason  why  Maggie  has  not 
written,  has  been  the  hope  that  she  would  be  well 


n&s 


I.OVE-LIFE  OF  DB.  KANE. 


enougli  to  leave  from  week  to  week,  but  the  pro- 
tracted character  of  her  indisposition  has  prevented. 
The  Doctor,  whom  I  have  just  seen,  thinks  that  in  a 
fortnight  her  health  will  be  firmly  established,  so  tb  .« 
she  may  pursue  her  studies  with  advantage. 

"  E.  W." 


[Iln.  Tamer  to  Mrs.  W J] 

"  Cbooeyille,  Dea  16th,  1863. 

"My  Dear  Mrs.  W : — I  have  just  received 

your  highly  welcome  favor  of  tb3  14th  inst ;  it  has 
truly  been  to  me  a  messenger  of  peace,  for  it  has 
relieved  my  mind  from  those  keen  anxieties  which  I 
could  not  help  feeling  on  account  of  my  young  friend. 
Had  she  but  written  me  a  few  lines  it  would  have 
saved  me  many  a  sleepless  hour. 

"  I  regret  exceedingly  that  I  should  have  said  one 
word  calculated  to  wound  her  feelings,  and  hope  she 
will  attribute  the  hasty  expression  of  my  thoughts  to 
the  true  cause,  anxiety  for  her  ultimate  welfare.  Had 
I  been  aware  of  the  protracted  nature  of  her  indis- 
position I  would  have  felt  glad  that  she  was  with  kind 
old  friends,  and  near  competent  medical  advisers. 
Being  unaware  of  the  real  state  of  the  case,  and  receiv- 
ing no  answers  to  my  letters,  I  really  began  to  fear 
that  she  had  fallen  under  those  influences  from  which 
it  has  been  the  aim  and  object  of  kind  friends  to  shield 


^ 


LOVE-LIFE  OF   DR.   KANE. 


169 


b  the  pro- 
jrevented. 
s  that  in  a 
ed,  80  th  <o 


IBth,  1863. 

ist  received 
inst;  it  has 
,  for  it  has 
ties  which  I 
)ung  friend, 
would  have 

ive  said  one 
id  hope  she 
thoughts  to 
jlfare.    Had 
)f  her  indis- 
as  with  kind 
lal  advisers. 
!,  and  receiv- 
egan  to  fear 
from  which 
snds  to  shield 


her.  She  must  not  think  the  worse  of  me  for  per- 
forming my  duty  to  her,  though  it  should  occasionally 
be  a  hard  one. 

*  *  «  «  •  • 

"  I  feel  much  gratified  to  hear  that  you  are  pleased 
with  her  progress,  and  think  that  she  has  made  some 
improvement.  She  was  very  industrious,  and  never 
lost  a  moment  But  she  suffered  so  much  from  tooth- 
ache as  well  as  other  bodily  infirmities,  that  sometimes 
it  was  difficult  to  accomplish  much.  I  hope  Margaret 
will  not  think  of  undertaking  the  journey  till  she  is 
fully  able  to  travel. 

"  Please  present  my  kindest  love  to  her,  in  which 
Mr.  Turner  heartily  joins. 

"  And  believe  me  yours  truly, 

"  S.  Turner."    . 


[Mrs.  Tarner  to  MLu  Fox.] 

"Crookvtlle,  Dec.  29th,  1853. 

"My  Dear  Margaret: — I  dispatched  a  few  lines 
to  you  this  morning,  but  in  the  course  of  the  day  I 
received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Grinnell,  wishing  to  know 
at  what  time  you  returned  to  Crookville  I     I  have 

just  written  to  him,  stating  that  Mrs.  W had 

written  to  me  that  you  had  been  unable  to  resume 

8 


• 


u 


170 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


your  studies  till  your  health  should  be  re-established. 
But  he  will  most  probably  wait  on  you  himself. 
"  Hoping  soon  to  see  you, 

"  I  remain  yours  sincerely, 

"  S.  Turner." 


Mrs.  W wrote  to  Margaret  at  school,  March 

7th,  1854— as  follows: 

"I  was  delighted,  dear  Maggie,  to  receive  your 
note.  The  letters  all  came  safely.  I  thought  yours 
to  the  Doctor  very  sweet  and  touching  from  their 
sympathy  and  the  pure  affection  breathing  throughout 
them.  What  is  more  to  be  prized  than  a  pure,  devo- 
ted heart  ?  I  will  take  the  best  care  of  them,  and 
send  them,  as  you  directed,  to  Mr.  Grinnell. 

"  We  had  a  delightful  visit  with  you  in  your  plea 
sant  home.  I  was  so  much  pleased  with  Mrs.  Turner 
and  her  family.  Mr.  Turner  I  liked  very  much. 
You  are  favored,  dear  Maggie,  in  the  seclusion  of 
your  residence ;  but  one  of  these  days  you  will  come 
out  of  it,  and  shine  all  the  brighter.  Then  you  will 
feel  and  know  the  great  advantage  of  an  education, 
and  will  fully  appreciate  the  noble  friend  who  gave 
it,  and  to  whom  you  have  given  your  heart's  best 
love.  '  . 


•  t 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


171 


"  Good  night,  dear,  sweet  little  Maggie,  and  may 
sweet  spirits  hover  ever  near  you. 

"  Yours  ever, 

"  Ellen  W— 


)> 


Another  letter  dated  March  15th,  1854,  is  from  Mr. 
Grinnell. 


"  My  Dear  Miss  Fox  : — I  have  received  your  note 
of  yesterday,  and  take  the  earliest  opportunity  to 
inform  you  that  Dr.  Kane  by  no  means  considers  the 
search  for  Sir  John  Franklin  as  usrless ;  on  the  con- 
trary, he  IS  full  of  hope,  and  left  here  under  the  full 
conviction  that  the  liiissing  party  were  still  in  exist- 
ence. I  shall  feel  much  obliged  if  you  will  please 
send  me  the  article  you  refer  to  in  the  Cincinnati 
paper,  as  such  an  erroneous  statement  should  be  con- 
tradicted. 

"Captain  Inglefield,  of  the  steamer  Phoenix,  will 
^eave  England  in  April  for  the  Arctic  regions. 
Should  you  wish  to  write  to  Dr.  Kane  by  this  con- 
veyance, please  send  your  letter  to  me  before  next 
Saturday,  us  the  steamer  Baltic  leaves  on  that  day  for 
England.    You  should  therefore  put  your  letter  in 


Vi 


172 


LOVE-lilFE  OF  DK.   KANli;. 


,:^^l 


'if 


the  post-office  (addressed  to  me)  Thuifiuay  .iternoon, 
if  possible,  or  early  Friday  morniiig. 

"  I  am  very  truly  yours, 

"C.  Grinnell. 

**  By  express  I  send  you  Dr.  Kane*s  book." 


In  a  note  dated  March  80th,  he  wrote :  "  1  have 
not  received  any  letter  from  you  to  be  forwarded  to 
Dr.  Kane.     I  fear  it  is  now  too  late." 


"  April  7th,  1854. — We  do  not  expect  to  hear  from 
Dr.  Kane  until  next  September  cr  October." 


He  wrote — 

"  April  2l8t,  1854. 

"  My  Deab  Miss  Fox  : — I  have  received  your  note 
of  the  20th,  and  in  compliance  with  your  request  I 
have    written    to  Mrs.  Turner  (letter  enclosed)  to 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


173 


request  permission  for  you  to  visit  your  fneyic'vs  in 
this  city,  and  she  will  doubtless  accede  to  your 
wishes." 


.  •'  July  17th,  1854. 

"  My  Dear  Miss  Fox : — I  enclose  a  letter  for  you 
just  received  from  the  Doctor.  It  should  have  been 
here  some  time  ago ;  but  you  know  that  the  mails  are 
not  very  regular  from  that  distant  quarter  of  the 
globe. 

"  Please  inform  me  if  you  are  in  need  of  money, 
and  I  will  immediately  forward  whatever  amount  you 
may  require. 

"  I  sincerely  trust  that  we  may  again  see  our  good 
friend  the  Doctor  back  again  in  October,  and  that  he 
may  be  successful  in  his  noble  undertaking. 

"  I  am  very  truly  yours, 
"Cornelius  Grinnell." 


The  above  reached  Crookville  during  Margaret's 
temporary  absence,  and  Mrs.  Turner  wrote : 

"  Orookvillb,  July  29th,  1854. 

"  My  Dear  Margaret  : — I  write  to  acquaint  you 
that  a  letter  from  Mr.  Grinnell,  enclosing  one  from 


174 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DB.   KANE. 


Dr.  Kane,  arrived  here  to-day.  On  leaving  this,  you 
requested  Lizzy  to  open  any  letter  which  might  come 
from  Mr.  Grinnell  during  your  absence.  I  accord- 
ingly opened  this ;  but  on  finding  the  enclosure,  I 
immediately  folded  both  in  the  envelope,  unread. 
Now,  Margaret,  I  am  really  at  a  loss  to  know  what  to 
do  with  this.  Several  of  our  letters  and  papers  have 
gone  astray  lately  from  the  negligence  of  the  post- 
ofiice  ofiicials.  And,  judging  how  very  dear  and 
precious  this  letter  must  be  to  you,  I  feel  very  unwil- 
ling to  run  any  risk  of  its  going  astray  in  transmitting 
it  to  you  by  post.  I  therefore  think  you  had  better 
come  for  it  yourself;  or  write  me  word  immediately 
on  receipt  of  this,  whether  I  shall  return  it  to  Mr. 
Grinnell  or  not. 

"I  remain  your  perplexed  friend, 

"  S.  Turner." 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  BR.  KANE. 


175 


XV. 

The  above,  as  may  be  supposed,  brought  the  truant 
young  lady  back  to  school  forthwith.  Here  is  Dr. 
Kane's  letter,  portions  of  which  must  be  omitted  on 
account  of  observations  on  persons  which  would  not 
be  understood  by  tiie  reader. 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  Deae,  Dear  Maggie  : — In  the  midst  of  ice  and 
desolation  I  still  think  of  you.  Can  you,  while  hope 
and  sunshine  linger  round  you,  turn  a  thought  to 
me? 

"  Only  a  few  minutes,  dear  Maggie,  have  I  to  renew 
my  assurances  of  confidence  and  trust.  You  cannot 
but  love  and  honor  your  only  and  truest  friend.  Be 
then  all  that  I  have  advised  you  to  be,  and  thus 
reward  me  for  an  act  which  the  harsh  world  could 
neither  understand  nor  appreciate. 


"  Trust  in  my  honor,  dear  Maggie,  and  you  and 
your  '  treasured  secrets '  will  always  be  as  in  your 


176 


LOVE-LIPE  OP  DR.   KANE. 


M' 

IHI 

1 

t 

own  heart  alone.    For  am  not  /  your  heart  ?    Yes, 
dear  Mag,  your  very  heart  of  hearts — now  and  always  1 

"Ly. 

"  P.  S.-«— Your  portrait  is  a  great  comfort  to  me.  I 
often  gaze  on  its  quiet  loveliness." 

In  a  letter  written  to  his  father,  and  probably  sent 
with  the  above,  Dr.  Kane  had  this  postscript ;  "  Love. 
U^*  M}''  last  word  is  'Love.'  "  It  may  well  be  con- 
jectured to  whom  he  referred. 


Mr.  Grinnell  wrote : — 

"  I  trust  you  have  received  the  letter  I  sent  to  you 
a  few  days  since  from  the  Doctor,  from  Greenland. 

"  He  deserves  success  in  his  noble  and  daring  enter- 
prise, and  I  am  sure  he  will  achieve  it.  The  nation 
may  well  feel  proud  of  him.  I  will  write  to  you  in 
the  early  part  of  the  week,  and  I  remain 

"  Very  truly  yours, 

"C.  Grinnell." 


He  wrote  while  Miss  Fox  was  still  in  New  York :— 
"  The  last  mail  brings  accounts  of  the  return 


LOVE-LIFE  OP  DR.   KANE. 


177 


of  Captain  Inglefield,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  by  the 
mail  to  arrive  here  on  Friday  or  Saturday,  we  shall 
have  letters  from  Dr.  Kane. 
"  Where  and  when  shall  I  send  the  money  ?" 


August  17th,  1854,  Mr.  Grinnell  wrote : — 

"  We  liiay  look  for  the  Doctor  about  the  10th  of 
October.  Trusting  that  his  life  and  health  have  been 
spared,  and  that  he  may  have  been  successful  in  find- 
ing some  trace  of  the  lost  ones — 

"I  am,  etc." 


Still  later,  he  announces  that  "  Captain  Inglefield 
has  returned,  but  brings  no  news  of  Dr.  Kane." 

Again : — 

"  We  may  hear  from  Dr.  Kane  by  the  steamer  to 
arrive  from  England  next  week.  Should  any  letters 
come  for  you,  I  will  forward  them  without  delay." 


^ 


8* 


178 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


October  17th,  1854  :— 

"  We  have  no  tidings  yet  of  the  Doctor ;  nor  do 
we  look  for  him  until  the  latter  end  of  the  month. 
My  father  says  that  if  he  is  not  at  home  by  the  end 
of  November,  that  he  will  conclude  that  he  intends 
to  remain  another  winter  in  the  Arctic  regions, 

"  I  shall  certainly  inform  you  if  we  receivt  any 
tidings  from  the  Doctor. 

"  You  will  perceive  by  the  papers  that  Sir  Edward 
Belcher  has  abandoned  his  squadron,  and  has  re- 
turned to  England,  leaving  Dr.  Kane  alone  in  the 
field." 


The  "hope  deferred"  that  makes  the  heart  sick 
was  to  be  experienced  by  the  friends  of  the  adven- 
turous explorer  for  many  weary  months.  And  who 
felt  more  painfully  his  prolonged  absence — +hat  dreary 
interval  when  no  tidings  came,  and  gloom  rested  on 
the  future — than  she,  the  chosen  of  his  heart,  whose 
every  hope  of  the  future  was  interwoven  with  thoughts 
of  him  !  What  had  she  on  earth  to  look  forward  to 
but  the  meeting  with  her  lover  and  friend — long-lost, 
and  dearer  than  ever !  Her  connection  with  spiritual- 
ism was  for  ever  severed ;  its  votaries  were  no  longer 
her  friends  ;  she  no  longer  looked  to  ii  for  her  sup- 


Mi^ 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  OR.   KANE. 


179 


port.    Her  life  was  bound  up  in  that  of  the  absent 
one. 


^he  following  letter  is  from  Miss  Oray,  the  daugh- 
ter of  a  physician  in  New  York.  She  was  a  lovely 
and  accomplished  girl,  and  an  intimate  friend  of  Mar- 
garet's. 

"  October  12th,  1864 

"  I  received  your  little  note  yesterday,  Maggie  Pet, 
and  duly  delivered  the  note  for  Kate  into  her  own 
hands.  She  said  she  would  answer  it  immediately. 
And  now,  old  lady,  I  have  a  bone  to  pick  with  you. 
I  shall  not  write  to  you  again  until  you  find  out  what 
my  name  is,  and  call  me  by  it.  I  love  you  too  much, 
dear  one^  to  address  you  as  '  Miss  Fox ;'  then  why 
will  you  do  it  towards  me  ?  I  always  fancied  you 
cared  a  little  bit  about  poor  me,  but  when  your  let- 
ters come  with  'My  dear  Miss  Gray'  at  the  com- 
mencement, I  fairly  give  up  all  hope.  Write  when- 
ever you  can,  sweet  Maggie ;  I  am  always  willing 
and  most  happy  to  do  anything  in  my  power  for  you, 
and  therefore  hope  if  there  is  anything  that  I  can  do 
for  you  in  any  way,  you  will  write  and  tell  me. 

"And  now  adieu  I  TJncle  sends  his  best  regards, 
father  and  mother  their  iove,  and  I  my  very  best  love. 


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180 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.    KANE. 


And  with  the  If  ope  of  soon  seeing  you,  allow  me  to 
remain  as  ever 

"Your  friend, 

"Geraldine  Gray. 

"  P.  S. — I  saw  in  a  paper  of  last  week  that  the 
Doctor  would  probably  be  absent  longer  than  he  anti- 
cipated when  he  left.  But,  dear  Maggie,  if  he  is  only 
spared  to  return  to  you  after  his  perilous  journey, 
that  is  all  you  can  ask.  I  pray  that  he  may  be 
guarded  safely. 

"  Ever  your  friend, 

**  Geraldine." 


[Miss  Gray  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"New  York,  Oct  3l8t. 

"  My  Dear  Maggie  : — I  have  been  for  the  past 
two  weeks  staying  at  Newburgh,  and  thence  accom- 
panied my  friends  (Hon.  H.  Eamsdell's  family)  to 
Niagara,  where  we  stayed  a  week ;  and  having  just 
returned,  find  a  most  welcome  letter  from  you,  dated 
the  twelfth  of  this  month.  I  hasten  to  reply,  to  erase 
from  your  mind  the  impression  of  its  not  being 
received. 

"  I  am  heartily  glad,  Maggie  pet,  you  have  found 
out  my  Christian  name ;  for  I  have  had  a  good  many 
heart-twinges  in  reference  to  your  apparent  coldness. 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


181 


"  I  suppose,  of  course,  Maggie,  the  Doctor  will 
soon  return,  now  that  his  efforts  are  no  more  needed. 
How  very  glad  I  am  for  your  sake  I  Oh,  may  your 
lot  in  life  be  blessed  and  happy  I  calm  and  cloudless 
to  the  end  I 

"If  the  reports  are  all  correct,  you  hav"  now  a 
treasure — one  that  will  guard  you  with  an  over  kind 
and  jealous  watchfulness ;  jealous,  I  said  I  Yes !  for 
who  will  not  guard  those  they  hold  dearest  and  near- 
est, with  jealous  care  I  Maggie,  darling,  accept  my 
prayers  and  well  wishes  for  your  future.  Do  not 
deem  me  forward,  dearest ;  for  I  love  you  too  dearly 
not  to  feel  a  deep,  deep  interest  in  those  things  which 
will  add  one  iota  to  your  worldly  happiness. 

"I  have  not  as  yet  seen  either  your  mother  or 
Katie;  when  I  do,  I  shall  punctually  deliver  your 
message  about  *  Tommy.* 

"  And  now,  Maggie,  for  fear  of  tiring  your  kind- 
ness and  patience,  I  will  e'en  draw  my  stupid  letter 
to  a  close,  hoping  soon  to  hear  from  you.  Your  let- 
ters are  ever  acceptable  and  welcome ;  so  deem  it  not 
lost  time  when  you  spare  a  few  moments  to  remember 
one  who  may  most  truly  sign  herself  one  of 
"  Your  most  affectionate  friends, 

"Geraldine  Gray." 


/ 


182 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


[Mrs.  Turner  to  Mrs.  W .] 


"  My  Bear  Mrs.  W- 


"Ceookville,  Dec.  1th,  1854. 
— : — I  have  just  received 
yours  of  the  6th  inst.,  and  feel  perfectly  satisfied  with 
your  explanation  of  the  cause  of  my  young  friend's 
protracted  stay  in  New  York.  I  did  not  by  any 
means  censure  Margaret  for  leaving  this  at  the  time 
she  did;  for  I  really  pitied  her  from  my  inmost  heart, 
and  felt  that  she  required  change  of  scene  to  dissipate 
the  sickness  of  the  heart  which  arises  from  hope 
deferred.  Had  she  told  me  on  parting  that  she 
wished  to  remain  a  month  with  you,  I  would  not 
have  made  the  slightest  objection ;  but  I  have  ever 
impressed  on  young  persons  the  folly  of  making  rash 
promises,  and  the  sacred  duty  of  keeping  a  promise 
when  once  made,  no  matter  at  what  cost. 

"  I  have  always  found  Margaret  much  improved  in 
many  respects  from  her  visits  to  you  ;  more  cheerful 
in  her  mind,  aivi  more  punctual  in  her  habits,"  etc. 


Mr.  Grinnell  wrote : 


(< 


"April  30tn,  1855. 
If  the  Doctor  returns  this  year,  he  will  probably 
be  here  in  October  next ;  bul,  if  he  is  not  home  by 
that  time,  lie  cannot  get  here  before  October,  1856. 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


183 


**  The  Government  Expedition  in  search  of  him 
and  his  party  will  leave  here  on  the  1st  of  June, 
and  they  are  expected  to  return  in  October  following." 


Each  of  the  numerous  letters  of  this  gentleman 
shows  that  he  recognised  in  Miss  Fox  the  betrothed 
wife  of  his  friend — as  such  respecting  her  anxiety  to 
hear  the  earliest  news.  The  letters  of  Mrs.  Turner 
show  the  tender  affection  with  which  the  young  lady 
was  regarded  by  her  instructress.  That  excellent 
friend  found  it  necessary  to  resume  the  tone  of 
reproof — 

[Mrs.  Turner  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"July  3d,  1866. 
"  I  trust  in  a  kind  Providence  that  Dr.  Kane  will 
return  in  the  course  of  this  ensuing  fall,  to  greet  his 
friends  and  country.  He  will  expect  to  find  your 
mind  stored  with  the  elements  of  useful  knowledge. 
He  will  expect  to  find  a  companion  whose  conversa- 
tional powers  have  been  cuUivated.  Ask  yourself, 
my  dear  child,  one  question,  without  flinching  from 
the  task :  '  How  shall  I  meet  those  requirements  ? 
How  have  I  improved  those  precious  talents  com- 
mitted to  my  charge?  Have  there  been  no  wasted 
days,  or  weeks  ?  no  slighted  opportunities,  or  neglected 


ii 


1:. 


184 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


means  ? '  If  the  echo  of  your  inmost  heart  responds 
a  *  no '  to  your  searching  appeal,  then  shall  your 
*  bosom's  lord  sit  lightly  on  its  throne  I ' 

"  It  is  my  earnest  hope  and  prayer  that  you  will 
improve  every  hour  *  *  .  I  do  not  in  the  least 
fear  your  forgetting  '  The  Pleasures  of  Hope' — but 
the  recorded  events  of  the  past  cannot  be  remem- 
bered without  exertion  and  severe  study.  I  need  say 
nothing  about  your  music,  except  that  your  daily 
practising  should  be  in  earnest.  Do  not  think  me  too 
hard  in  thus  speaking  to  you  as  I  would  to  my  own 
daughters.  Did  I  do  otherwise,  I  should  ill  perform 
the  trust  reposed  in  me  by  one  now  far,  far  distant." 


She  writes — July  16th,  1855 : — "As  your  return 
to  New  York  will  not  take  place  till  the  middle  or 
last  of  September,  the  probability  is  that  Dr.  Kane 
will  have  arrived  by  that  time.  I  feel  really  sorry  that 
you  should  have  been  called  away  just  at  the  time 
when  every  moment  was  doubly  precious." 


«    -ii 


•  t  ,•■■■ 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


185 


[Mrs.  Turner  to  Miss  Fox.] 

,,  "  Ceooktillb,  July  20th,  1855. 

"My  Dear   Margaret: — I  have  just  received 

your  little  note,  mailed  on  Saturday.    I  also  received 

one  from  Mr.  Grinnell  by  same  post.     He  says  you 

will  be  here  by  first  of  August,  to  commence  again 

in  right  good  earnest.     So  you  muat  make  up  your 

mind  to  have  hard  study  all  this  fall.     I  wrote  you 

my  reasons  for  not  being  able  to  fulfil  my  promise  of 

going  to  New  York  to  conduct  you  here.     You  will 

therefore  have  to  provide  some  other  escort.    If  you 

had  a  friend  to  accompany  you  as  far  as  Philadelphia, 

and  put  you  on  board  the  Media  cars,  Market  and 

Elizabeth  streets,  we  would  await  you  at  Wallingford 

station,  at  six  P.  M.     At  all  events  write  me  word 

what  way  you  will  come,  that  I  may  meet  you.     I 

hope  you  will  not  leave  any  of  your  things  behind ; 

and  be  sure  and  bring  a  supply  of  music.     Some 

pretty  new  songs,  which  you  can  learn  without  much 

difficulty.    You  have  quite  forgotten  to  date  any  of 

the  notes  I  have  received  from  you.    Never  write 

anything,  however  unimportant,  without  a  date." 


The  reader  must  not  suppose,  from  the  complaints 
of  her  anxious  friend,  that  Margaret  ever  undervalued 


186 


LOVE-LIFE  OF   DR.   KANE. 


the  advantages  she  enjoyed  at  Crookville,  or  weakly 
yielded  to  her  own  inclinations  for  the  society  of  her 
kindred — enfeebled  as  she  was  in  health.  She  was 
urged  to  prolong  her  vacations,  by  those  friends  in  whom 
both  she  and  Mrs.  Turner  had  perfect  confidence. 
One  of  these  was  suffering  severely  in  health,  and  it 
was  in  Maggie's  power  to  soothe  and  alleviate  those 
sufferings.  Thus,  her  stay  in  New  York  was  often 
urged  as  a  matter  of  duty^  to  which  she  ought  to  sacri- 
fice her  own  interests.  She  had  nothing  to  do  with 
spiritualism ;  her  hatred  to  that,  and  her  aversion  to 
its  votaries,  increased  every  day. 


The  annexed  letter  from  Mrs.  Bayard  was  sent  to 
Margaret  while  at  school. 

New  York,  Sept.  3d. 
"  My  Dear  Maggie  : — I  delayed  replying  to  your 
letter,  thinking  that,  as  Mrs.  Kemyes  wrote  you  last 
week,  you  would  be  glad  to  hear  still  later  how  we 
were  getting  on.  I  am  most  happy  to  say  that  my 
dear  husband  is  still  free  from  pain,  and  is  most 
sanguine  that  he  will  reach  the  27th  without  any 
severe  spasm.  I  trust  in  this  he  may  not  be  dis- 
appointed. We  have  not  heard  a  word  from  Katie 
since  she  left.    Is  she  not  a  naughty  girl  not  to  keep 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


187 


her  promise  1     We  all  want  to  hear  from  her  very 
much.     Mrs.  Kemyea   received  a  letter  from   Mrs. 

,  this  morning,  who  is  pretty  well,  and  enjoying 

her  visit  very  much.  She  will  probably  remain  at 
Petersboro'  a  week  or  two  longer.  I  think  the  Dr. 
and  myself  will  leave  town  in  a  day  or  two,  to  be 
absent  some  time — but  how  long  I  cannot  say  ;  I  hope 
two  weeks ;  but  where  we  shall  go  we  have  not  yet 
decided.  The  country  air  will  do  the  Dr.  great  good, 
as  will  also  the  rest  from  his  professional  labors.  I 
long  to  get  away  from  the  din  and  dust  of  this  great 
town,  and  'repose'  for  a  while  in  some  quiet  spot. 
Do  you  not  enjoy  this  charming  autumnal  weather  ? 
It  is  just  the  weather  for  study,  and  I  am  sure  you 
are  deeply  engaged,  and  are  making  rapid  progress, 
so  that  when  your  long  absent  one  returns,  he  will 
have  great  pleasure  in  finding  you  all  he  could 
desire. 

"  We  were  glad  to  hear  that  you  were  so  well, 
and  now  you  must  keep  so ;  for  I  want  you  to  greet 
the  stranger  with  a  sweet  blooming  face ;  such  a  one 
as  he  has  not  seen  during  his  two  years'  absence,  only 
in  his  dreams!  It  is  now  raining  very  fast,  and 
everything  looks  dreary.  I  wish  you  were  here  to 
cheer  me  up  a  little.  ;  :• 

"  Bye  bye,  with  much  love  and  sincere  wishes  for 
your  health  and  happiness,, 
i_  ,  ^       •     ,    .  '        "Truly  yours,      -  « '■ 

;    '  "T.  Bayard. 


188 


LOVE-LIFE  OF   DR.    KANE. 


"  N.  B.  The  Dr.  sends  much  love,  and  says  that 
he  is  quite  impatient  for  the  29th  to  arrive,  so  that 
he  may  see  you." 


IMM 


.  The  appointment  for  "  the  29th  "  was  to  meet  Dr. 

Bayard  and  Mrs. in  Philadelphia.    The  party 

went  thence  to  Harrisburgh  to  visit  Mr.  Henry  Bay- 
ard. After  returning  to  school  for  a  few  days,  Mar- 
garet was  taken  to  New  York  by  Mrs.  K ,  when 

the  following  letter  came : 

[Mrs.  Tarner  to  MIbb  Fox.] 

CrookviUe,  Oct.  12th,  1855. 

"  My  Dear  Margaret  : — As  you  may  suppose, 
I  was  much  disappointed,  on  my  return  from  the 
city,  to  find  you  absent.  Expecting  every  day  either 
to  hear  from  you  or  see  you,  I  deferred  writing  till  to- 
day. At  dinner-time  Mr.  Turner  announced  the 
glad  tidings  of  Dr.  Kane's  arrival.  I  was  too  much 
overjoyed  to  eat,  and  now  sit  down  to  offer  you  my 
hearty  congratulations  on  his  safe  arrival.  Though 
he  may  not  have  accomplished  all  he  anticipated,  his 
return  will  be  hailed  with  delight  by  his  admiring 
country ;  and  the  exertions  he  has  so  bravely  made 
in  the  cause  of  nautical  discovery  be  generously  re- 
warded. 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


189 


"  And  now,  dear  Margaret,  as  it  is  not  at  all  proba- 
ble that  you  and  I  shall  resume  our  pleasant  studies 
together,  I  hope  the  remembrance  of  those  hours  we 
have  spent  in  conversation  or  reading,  will  long  con- 
tinue to  afford  you  happy  thoughts.  You  will  have 
to  consult  with  your  friends  about  the  best  means  of 
having  your  trunks  sent  from  this,  and  when  you 
have  decided,  send  me  word.  Surely  you  will  come 
and  see  me — that  we  may  have  one  good  long  talk 
more,  together.     Present  my  kindest  regards  to  Mrs. 

W ,  and  by  all  means  kind  bve  to  the  Doctor. 

In  this  Mr.  Turner  and  the  girls  join.     Let  me  hear 
from  you  by  return  of  mail,  and  believe  me 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Susannah  Turner." 


190 


LOVE-LIFE   OF   DR.   KANE. 


XVI. 


The  foregoing  extracts  from  the  letters  of  persons 
esteemed  and  trusted  by  Dr.  Kane — one  of  them  his 
most  intimate  friend — may  serve  to  show  not  only 
the  respect  and  affection  with  which  they  regarded 
Margaret  Fox,  but  their  recognition  of  the  tender  re- 
lation subsisting  between  her  and  the  navigator. 
They  all  regarded  her  as  the  affianced  wife  of  Dr. 
Kane,  and  expected  the  marriage  to  take  place  soon 
after  his  return  to  America.  Known  as  this  engage- 
ment was  to  many,  it  was  not  surprising  that  the  ru- 
mor was  spread  abroad,  and  that  newspaper  an- 
nouncements of  the  adventurous  explorer  being 
about  to  return,  or  having  arrived,  should  be  mingled 
with  mention  of  his  approaching  nuptials.  A  news- 
paper statement,  that  "the  celebrated  Dr.  Kane  would 
shortly  lead  to  the  altar  Miss  Margaret  Fox,  of  spirit- 
rapping  celebrity,"  went  the  rounds  of  the  press  in 
every  quarter  of  the  country ;  and  other  manufac- 
turers of  news  were  busy  in  arranging  the  particu- 
lars. Only  a  few  of  these  articles  met  the  eye  of  the 
lady  most  interested ;  but  they  came  from  far  and 
near  to  the  relatives  of  Dr.  Kane,  and  their  pride  was 
deeply  wounded. 
It  had  been  undoubtedly  the  expectation  of  Dr. 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


191 


Kan  himself,  hoping  to  find  the  education  of  his 
beloved  one  completed,  to  marry  her  as.  soon  as  his 
circumatanees  permitted.  He  had  directed  that  at  the 
wedding  she  should  wear  the  singular  ornament  of  a 
carbuncle  upon  her  forehead,  which  ho  was  to  procure 
for  her.     Margaret  had  arranged  with  her  friend,  Mrs. 

,   that  the  ceremony  should  take  place  at  her 

house,  in  the  presence  of  a  select  circle  of  friends. 
The  dresses  for  the  occasion  had  of  course  been  dis- 
cussed ;  for  when  did  ladies  talk  of  a  wedding  in  pros- 
pect without  mention  of  the  dresses? 

Margaret  was  absent  from  school  on  one  of  her 
visits   to  New  York,   and   was  staying  with   Mrs. 

W ,  when  the  event  so  long  anticipated,  looked 

forward  to  with  such  trembling  delight,  took  place. 
One  morning  in  October  a  note  was  handed  to  the 
young  lady.  It  announced  the  safe  arrival  of  the 
7)octor.     His  ship  was  expected  the  very  next  day. 

As  the  vessel  came  up  the  Bay  of  New  York,  Mar- 
garet heard  the  guns  fired  in  joyful  greeting.  Her 
excitement  became  so  great  that  her  careful  friend 
would  not  permit  her  to  stir  out,  but  insisted  on  her 
remaining  as  quiet  as  possible.  All  that  evening, 
when  it  was  known  that  Dr.  Kane  was  in  the  city, 
they  waited  for  the  ring  of  the  bell  that  should  herald 
his  visit.  Till  midnight  they  listened  every  moment 
for  his  familiar  step.  He  did  not  come.  The  next 
morning  it  was  the  same.  They  waited  expectant  till 
noon.     The  young  lady's  feelings  may  be  imagined. 


■U 


iiijiiif 


192 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


!'.^' 

* 


At  length  the  friends  concluded  that  the  strange  delay 
was  caused  ^bv  the  Doctor's  not  knowing  that  his 
"Maggie"  was  in  New  York.  Mr.  Grinnell  know 
nothing  of  this  last  visit;  how  could  his  friend  bo 
expected  to  know  it  ?  He  might  even  then  be  setting 
out  for  Crookville  to  see  her.  Mrs.  W imme- 
diately wrote  a  note — her  young  friend  was  too  much 
agitated  to  pen  it  herself — and  it  was  dispatched  to 
Mr.  Grinnell  to  inform  him  Miss  'Fox  was  in  Clinton 
Place. 

Little  did  those  who  offered  their  joyous  congratu- 
lations to  the  wanderer  who  had  returned  covered  with 
glory  to  his  native  land,  imagine  the  anguish  of  one 
heart — shrouded  from  the  jubilant  public — ^yet  beating 
alone  for  him  who  had  so  often  bidden  her  "  trust  his 
honor."  Wearied  out  with  disappointed  expectation, 
and  the  distress  of  being  compelled  to  doubt  the  truth 
of  her  heart's  idol,  Margaret  left  Clinton  Place  that 
night,  and  went  to  the  house  in  Tenth  street  where 
her  mother  and  younger  pister,  Katharine,  resided. 
She  was  quite  exhausted  with  what  she  had  under- 
gone during  the  day,  and  threw  herself  upon  a 
couch. 

It  was  very  late  in  the  evening  when  she  was  sud- 
denly startled  by  a  hasty  ringing  at  the  door  bell. 
Then  a  friend's  voice  was  heard,  calling  her,  as  he 
came  up  stairs.  He  brought  the  news  that  a  carriage 
— no  doubt  containing  Dr.  Kane — had  stopped  at  Mrs. 


W- 


's  door  in  Clinton  Place.     Mrs.  W- 


on 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


193 


seeing  the  carriage,  had  sent  him  in  haste  to  bring  her 
friend.  "  Make  haste,  my  child,  and  come  with  me, 
for  you  must  see  him,"  he  cried,  and  er  jrly  drew 
Margaret  down  stairs  and  out  of  the  house.  She  had 
no  time  to  collect  her  thoughts ;  but  one  idea  was 
paramount,  and  overcame  all  the  bitterness  that  had 
filled  her  heart.    She  was  going  to  see  him  again  I 

Supported  and  almost  carried  along  by  her  old 
friend  and  physician,  who  was  with  her,  the  poor  girl 

reached  Mrs.  W 's  door;  but  was  met  by  the 

lady  with  hardly  coherent  apologies.  It  was  all  a 
mistake,  a  gentleman  on  business,  not  Dr.  Kane  I 

Mrs.  W did  not  dare  then  to  tell  her  young 

friend  that  the  visitor  in  the  carriage  was  Mr.  Corne- 
lius Grinnell,  who  came  at  Dr.  Kane's  request,  to  say 
he  would  come  shortly ;  and  to  explain  the  circum- 
stances that  had  prevented  his  coming  immediately  on 
his  arrival. 

There  was  "  great  trouble  in  his  family  "  on  account 
of  his  engagement ;  he  had  been  beset  on  all  sides  by 
the  remonstrances  of  relatives  and  friends ;  he  was 
suffering  severely  from  rheumatism  ;  but  so  anxious 
to  come  that  he  would  do  so  as  soon  as  possible,  etc. 

Such  were  the  excuses  made  to  Mrs.  W .     She 

perauaded  her  friend  to  stay  with  her  all  night. 

Another  object  Mr.  Grinnell  had  in  view,  was,  to 
procure  the  letters  addressed  by  Dr.  Kane  to  Miss 
Fox,  which  he  supposed  to  be  in  Mrs.  W 's  keep- 
ing.   Had  he  seen  the  young  lady  herself,  and  pre- 


194 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


ferred  such  a  request  to  her,  she  would  no  doubt  have 

instantly  placed  them  in  his  hands.     Mrs.  W 

said  nothing  to  her  on  the  subject,  nor  did  she  ever 
know  they  had  been  asked  for  till  years  had  elapsed 
after  Dr.  Kane's  death.  She  was  and  is  assured,  that 
such  a  request  came  not  from  Dr.  Kane,  but  from 
some  of  his  family. 

About  nine  the  next  morning,  Dr.  Kane,  wearing 
his  naval  uniform,  came,  and  was  received  by  Mrs. 

.     ""Where  is  Maggie?  "  was  his  first  question. 

"She  is  above  stairs — ^but  the  child  is  completely 
broken  down,"  was  the  reply.  The  Doctor  asked  to 
see  her,  but  Margaret's  answer  was  a  refusal  to  receive 

him.     Mrs.  W went  to  intercede  for  her  visitor, 

who  appeared  to  suffer  scarcely  less  than  she  had 
done.  But  woman's  pride  had  come  to  the  young 
girl's  aid,  and  she  was  firm  in  declining  to  see  the 
Doctor ;  adding,  that  it  was  her  wish  that  the  engage- 
ment between  them  should  be  broken  off  from  that 
moment  and  for  ever. 

Dr.  Kane  persisted  in  his  entreaties  for  an  inter- 
view, and  Mrs.  W begged  for  it  on  his  behalf. 

"  For  the  love  you  bear  me,  Maggie,"  she  pleaded, 
with  tears,  "go  down  and  see  Dr.  Kane."  Her  petition 
prevailed ;  the  young  girl  reluctantly  consented,  and 
went  down  to  the  parlor.  The  Doctor  was  walking 
the  room  in  a  fearful  stat;e  of  excitement.  When  he 
saw  her,  he  came  near,  clasped  her  firmly  in  his  arms, 
and  kissed  her  head  and  her  bj  )W  many  times,  hold- 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


195 


ing  her  for  some  minutes  closely  pressed  to  his  breast. 
Both  were  in  tears. 

In  broken  words  Dr.  Kane  expressed  his  joy  at 
meeting  once  more  her  whom  he  still  loved  so  fondly 
— who  was  to  him  "  the  same  as  when  we  parted." 
He  told  her  how  he  had  been  prevented  from  hasten- 
ing to  see  her ;  how,  that  very  morning,  he  had  been 
f  reed  to  tear  himself  away — to  rush  from  the  house 
unprepared  for  a  visit  to  a  lady;  "  not  half  dressed," 
as  he  termed  it.  The  conversation  was  long,  and 
Margaret  listened  patiently  and  kindly,  though  its 
purport  was  to  inform  her  that  all  idea  of  their  mar- 
riage must  be  indefinitely  postponed  on  account  of 
the  violent  opposition  of  Dr.  Kane's  family  and  rela- 
tives. For  the  present,  they  must  be  to  each  other 
only  r^  sister  and  brother ! 

The  Doctor  then  drafted  a  note  or  statement,  which 
he  said  was  to  satisfy  his  mother.  It  was  an  acknow- 
ledgement on  Miss  Fox's  part  that  the  relations 
between  them  were  merely  friendly  and  fraternal ; 
that  no  matrimonial  engagement  had  subsisted,  etc., 
etc.  -,' 

The  poor  girl's  dream  of  love  and  happiness  was 
already  over.  But  her  heart  was  tender,  and  she  had 
no  pride  to  forbid  her  pitying  the  distress  endured  by 
one  still  so  dear  to  her.  She  felt  for  his  embarrass- 
ment ;  she  wished  to  restore  peace  betweeu  him  and 
his  family ;  and  without  one  selfish  thought,  she  con- 
tented to  sign  the  statement.  .. 


!  I 


i 


196 


LOVE-LIFE  OP  DR.   KANE. 


She  accordingly  copied  it  in  her  own  handwriting, 
the  Doctor  directing  her  as  her  trembling  hand 
guided  the  pen.  Her  single  remonstrance — "  Doctor, 
this  is  not  right — it  is  not  true  " — was  silenced  by  his 
excuses ;  by  pleadings  that  he  was  worried  beyond 
endurance  on  all  sides,  and  that  the  happiness  of 
those  he  was  bound  to  reverence  and  love  depended 
on  it.  "  Do  it  for  me,  Maggie !  "  he  urged ;  •'  you 
shall  never  suffer !     It  is  for  my  mother !  " 

He  then  called  in  Mrs.  W ,  to  show  her  the 

statement.    She  looked  surprised  at  her  young  friend, 
and  said,  "  Maggie,  is  this  so  ?  " 

The  poor  girl — weakened  as  she  was  by  mental 
anguish,  and  hardly  knowing  what  to  do — could  not 
withstand  this  direct  appeal.  "  No — no — ^it  is  not 
sol  "  she  sobbed.  "  Doctor  Kane  knows  it  is  not  I 
Kemember  what  you  said  in  the  carriage — "  referring 
to  a  particular  conversation  with  Dr.  Kane,  in  which 
their  wedding  preparations  had  been  talked  of  in  detail. 

The  Doctor  appeared  annoyed  at  this  denial.  "  You 
are  not  the  Maggie  I  took  you  for,"  he  exclaimed. 

But  it  was  far  from  Margaret's  intention  to  make 
any  claim  upon  his  honor  for  the  continuance  or  ful- 
filment of  their  engagement.  She  freely  consented 
to  have  it  dissolved  for  ever ;  and  if  she  yielded  to  his 
entreaties  that  she  would  still  receive  his  visits  as  a 
brother,  it  was  because  she  believed  him  the  greatest 
sufferer,  and  was  willing  to  do  all  in  her  power  to 
soothe  and  comfort  him. 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


197 


In  spite  of  Mrs.  W 's  disapproval  the  written 

statement  was  given  to  the  Doctor,  who  said  he  would 
take  it  to  his  mother.         * 

It  is  due  to  him  to  relate  that,  a  few  days  after- 
wards, he  handed  back  the  statement  to  Margaret, 
with  the  significant  remark — "  The  wicked  shall  not 
inherit  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  She  tore  it  in 
pieces  on  the  spot,  without  ever  looking  to  see  if  it 
were  in  her  own  handwriting.  Thus  perished,  she 
believed,  the  record  of  her  only  act  of  disingenuous- 
ness. 

With  all  her  deep  affection  for  Dr.  Kane — an  affec- 
tion now  entwined  with  every  fibre  of  her  being — 
Margaret  felt  a  relief  in  having  matters  thus  settled 
on  a  basis  which  she  was  assured  would  be  satisfac- 
tory to  his  friends.  She  loved  him  so  purely  and 
unselfishly,  that  her  chief  thought  was  for  him — for 
his  welfare  and  his  happiness,  in  preference  to  her 
own.  Dr.  Kane  always  ingenuously  acknowledged 
to  her  that  he  had  been  compelled  by  his  persecutors 
to  act  a  part  unworthy  of  a  gentleman. 

He  showed  her  a  letter  written  to  him  by  his  aunt, 
Mrs.  Leiper,  who  had  seen  some  of  the  newspaper 
articles.  She  bade  him  clear  himself  of  the  imputa- 
tion of  having  deceived  that  young  girl — whom  he 
had  placed  under  her  own  charge — or  never  enter  her 
kovse  again  I  The  Doctor  said — "  See,  Maggie,  here 
is  my  favorite  aunt  turning  against  me  for  your 
sakel" 


.ut, 


198 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.  KANE. 


One  Sunday  morning,  when  Miss  Fox  was  just 
going  to  early  mass,  a  carriage  drove  up,  with  Dr. 
Kane  and  a  gentleman  whom  he  introduced  to  Miss 

Fox  as  Mr.  C Van  E  - — .     Taking  Mrs.  Fox 

aside,  he  told  her  the  man  had  forced  himself  upon 
him,  and  was  determined  to  enquire  of  her  whether 
there  were  really  any  engagement  existing  between 
Margaret  and  the  Doctor.  He  bade  her  tell  him  the 
engagement  had  been  kindly  broken  off".    This  Van 

R was  connected  with  a  newspaper,  and  was  a 

friend  of  some  of  the  Doctor's  acquaintances.  Miss 
Maggie  had  heard  evil  reports  of  him,  and  asked  Dr. 
Kane  how  he  could  associate  with  a  man  so  notorious. 
He  replied  that  he  was  no  associate  of  his,  and 
seemed  mortified  at  being  in  his  company. 

Dr.  Kane  always  evinced  respect  and  regard  for 
those  who  took  part  with  Margaret,  even  though  they 
censured  his  own  conduct.  •      . 

The  friends  of  Miss  Fox  were  not  disposed  to  treat 
him  with  the  same  leniency  she  had  shown.  She 
herself  sometimes  expressed  her  wish  that  all  inter- 
course might  cease  between  them,  since  they  were  no 
longer  on  the  same  footing  of  affianced  lovers.  But 
the  Doctor  earnestly  pleaded  against  such  a  decision. 
On  the  same  morning  that  witnessed  their  first  stormy 
interview  he  said,  "  I  must  see  Maggie  again  this 
evening."  He  came  in  the  evening  to  Clinton  Place, 
and  not  finding  her  th^^^s,  went  immediately  to  Tenth 
Street.     There  he  had  a  hurried  conversation  with 


II 


li.'i 


LOVE-LIFE  OP  DR.   KANE. 


199 


Margaret,  whom  he  besought  to  stand  firm,  and  to  be 
true  to  him,  till  the  storm  had  blown  over.  He 
would  not  be  separated  from  her;  his  love  was  as 
strong  as  ever ;  hi  would  be  firm  as  a  rock,  and  he 
entreated  her  still  to  confide  in  him. 

Several  brief  letters  were  sent  by  Dr.  Kane  about 
this  time,  from  which  an  extract  or  two  will  suffice  to 
show  his  feelings. 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  You  do  right,  ray  own  dear  darling,  and  I  will 
aid  and  strengthen  you  in  your  good  resolutions. 
Lean  upon  me  as  on  a  brother,  and  receive  my  admi- 
ration and  respect.  I  will  call  at  seven  o'clock  this 
afternoon — ^perhaps  at  six.    Do  be  in. 

"  God  bless  you." 


'   .      •  [Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.]  \^ 

*  *  "Send  me  word,  therefore,  by  the  bearer,  if 
wish  to  see  me,  and  at  what  hour.  Let  Katie  write 
the  note,  for  you  are  not  the  Maggie  which  you  used 
to  be.    I  have  waited  many  days — but  to-morrow  I 


200 


LOVE-LIFE   O)^   DR.   KANE. 


must  return.  Be  assured  of  one  thing ;  that  what- 
ever you  may  do,  or  say,  or  think,  not  one  word  shall 
ever  come  from  me  that  can  wound  you.  Even  as 
my  sister,  I  will  guard  you ;  and  whatever  you  may 
do,  will  now,  as  always,  be  a  gentleman. 

"  P.S. — I  leave  at  nine  to-morrow  morning." 


;ii 


To  Mrs.  Fox,  who  strove  to  prevent  his  seeing  her 
daughter.  Dr.  Kane  said  many  times  that  he  was  at 
present  dependent  on  his  father  for  the  means  of 
living ;  but  that  when  his  book  should  be  published, 
and  he  had  time  to  K^ceive  the  returns,  he  would  be 
his  own  master.  Then  he  could  afford  to  act  inde- 
pendently, and  could  spurn  the  interference  of 
friends  who  had  already  wrought  so  much  mischief. 

Amid  all  his  sorrow  one  fear  seemed  to  harass  him 
perpetually — that  Miss  Fox  might  be  induced  to 
return  to  the  professional  life  she  had  abandoned 
years  ago  for  his  sake.  She  was  surrounded  by  spi- 
ritualists, and  at  that  time  was  still  in  possession  of 
the  mysterious  power  which  she  was  doubtless  often 
entreated  to  exercise.  This  uneasiness  is  evident  in 
the  following  letter,  which  breathes  the  tone  of  former 
times.  It  is  proper  to  add  that  he  was  mistaken  in 
his  fears,  for  which  there  existed  no  ground. 


LOVE-Lirfi  OF  DB.   KANE. 


201 


at  what* 
3rd  shall 
Even  as 
^ou  may 


».<■■ 


xvn. 


eeing  her 
le  was  at 
means  of 
published, 
would  be 
)  act  inde- 
erence  of 
mischief, 
larass  him 
iduced  to 
ibandoned 
ed  by  spi- 
jsession  of 
)tless  often 
evident  in 
of  former 
aistaken  in 
I.       ^ 


[Dr.  Kano  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  Dear  Maggie  : — Do  not  be  uneasy — I  am  sick, 
but  the  doctors  make  more  of  it  than  it  deserves,  in 
order  to  keep  me  abed. 

"  Your  letter  of  Sunday  reached  me  yesterday,  but 
my  chest  gave  me  too  much  pain  to  write.  I  will 
see  you,  if  I  am  well  enough,  on  "Wednesday  after- 
noon at  five  o'clock.  Do  avoid  *  spirits.'  I  cannot 
bear  to  think  of  you  as  engaged  in  a  course  of  wicked- 
ness and  deception.  Indeed,  Maggie,  it  is  very  sad. 
Say  so  to  Kate. 

"Take  care  of  your  cough,  and  excuse  the  'low 
spirits  of  the  *  Preacher.'     God  bless  you.    Bye  bye. 

"P.  S. — Excuse  my  talking  about  the  'spirits.* 
You  know  that  I  never  mention  them  on  paper ;  but, 
Maggie,  I'm  really  sick,  and  perhaps  am  cross.  If 
anything  was  to  happen  to  me,  what  would  become 
of  Kate  and  yourself?  Maggie,  you  have  no  friend 
whose  interest  in  you  is  disconnected  from  this  cursed 
rapping.  Pardon  my  saying  so ;  but  is  it  not  deceit 
even  to  listen  when  others  are  deceived  f  Am  I  not  a 
true  friend  to  warn  you  against  it  ?  In  childhood  it 
may  be  a  mere  indiscretion  ;  but  what  will  it  be  when 

9* 


':1  ■ 

202 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


hard  age  wears  its  wrinkles  ii      vou,  and  like    *    *, 
you  grow  old  I  .. 

"  Dear  Maggie,  I  could  cry  to  think  of  it.  No 
wonder  that  you  are  so  nervous — that  the  doors  shake 
and  the  windows  tremble  with  the  wind  of  night.  A 
time  will  come  when  you  will  see  the  real  ghost  of 
memory — an  awful  spectre  1  *  *  *  *  Read  this 
to  dear  Katie ;  both  of  you  can  depend  upon  my 
honor,  and  you  both  know  that  I  mention  the  matter 
only  out  of  regard  to  your  own  good.  I  will  never 
mention  it  on  paper  again.  So  burn  this  letter,  and 
consider  me  as  having  preached  my  sermon. 

.  "  The  old  year  is  dying ;  let  its  spirits  be  buried 
with  its  dead.  Do  write  to  me,  for  Tm  sick  and  low- 
spirited. 

"Do  keep  out  of  spirit-circles.  I  can't  bear  the 
idea  of  your  sitting  in  the  dark,  squeezing  other  peo- 
ple's hands.  I  touch  no  hands  but  yours ;  press  no 
lips  but  yours ;  think  of  no  thoughts  that  I  would 
not  share  with  you ;  and  do  no  deeds  that  I  would 
conceal  from  you.  Can  you  say  as  much  ?  Will  the 
spirit  answer  1 

"  Bye  bye,  dear  Pettie  1     Here's  a  kiss  for  you. 

"  E.  K.  Kane." 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


203 


[Dr.  Kan*  to  MIm  Fox.] 

"Why  did  you  speak  of  *the  giraffe'  to  Mrs. 

W ?    You  behaved  very  badly  yesterday  :  and 

I  could  not  help  feeling  pained  at  the  almost  insepa- 
rable mingling  of  gaiety  and  sadness,  which,  poor 
child,  is  a  part  of  you.  Maggie,  be  careful  of  '  Lish  I 
Sometimes  I  am  tempted  to  give  up  friends,  name, 
position,  honor — all  for  ydu,  Maggie ! 

"  Send  word  by  William  at  what  hour  this  evening 
I  may  see  you.    But  our  meeting  must  not  be  mis- 
construed. ,  _ 
•'       '       "Farewell.     •      • 

V  '         "'Lish. 

"Saturday,  3  P.1L  '.  ,-..    . 

"  Give  the  drawing  to  Dr.  Bayard." 


.iv  . 


"The  Preacher"  was  ever  fond  of  moralizing; 
especially  on  hypocrisy. 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"Your  letter  was  a  perfect  little  jewel.  I  wil 
wear  it  like  an  amulet,  to  guard  both  you  and  myself 
from  evil. 


u 


204 


LOVE-LIFK  OF   DR.   KANE. 


"Such  letters  show  you  in  your  better  light,  for 
they  make  me  respect  you.  If  you  favored  me  with 
them  oftcncr,  you  would  find  out  by  my  answers  how 
truly  I  watch  over  your  happiness,  and  how  worthy 
I  am  of  the  title  of  brother. 

"  Once  upon  a  time  there  were  certain  crystal  vases 
in  Fairy  Land,  kept  bright  by  the  hands  of  '  little 
spirits.'  When  burnished  they  shone  like  the  stars 
of  heaven,  and  served  as  beacon  lights  to  weary  pil- 
grims afar  ofi";  but  when  soiled  they  lost  their  lustre 
and  never  knew  brightness  more. 

"  You  would  suppose  that  each  of  these  fairy  crys- 
tals contained  some  pure  and  beautiful  object,  such  as 
young  flowers  kissed  by  dewdrops,  or  golden  fruit 
just  ripened  on  the  bough.  But  this  was  not  the 
case.  In  the  centre  of  each  vase,  surrounded  by 
mould  and  rust  and  mildew,  was  a  loathsome  toad. 

"  Yet  in  spite  of  this  forbidding  interior,  so  long  as 
the  *  little  spirits '  kept  up  their  daily  polish,  so  long 
they  shone  on  as  before ;  and  to  the  weary  pilgrims 
from  afar  off  lost  none  of  their  brightness. 

"  My  fairy  tale — for  I  tell  beautiful  stories — would 
go  on  to  say  how  very  long,  by  constant  labor  and 
striving,  these  vases  beamed  ;  but  I  think  you  see  the 
moral  of  my  story,  and  I  pause. 

"  Neither  you  nor  myself  give  a  single  regretting 
thought  to  what  we  may  carry  in  out  own  hearts. 
The  world  knows  nothing  of  that  which  we  all  carry 
in  our  own  vases ;  but  we  go  on  with  the  daily  bright- 


LOVfi-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


206 


cning,  and  trust  to  the  *  little  spirits '  that  wo  may 
always  shine  as  beacon  lights  to  weary  pilgrims. 

"  There  are  few  crystals,  dear  Maggie,  even  in  fairy 
land — no  matter  how  bright  or  how  pure  they  may 
seem  to  you  and  me — who  do  not  carry  in  their  cen- 
tres toads  more  loathsome  than  those  of  my  fable." 


*i 


The  pure  and  constant  affection  of  Margaret  may 
be  seen  from  one  of  her  letters,  written  about  this 
period. 


•    [Miss  Fox  to  Dr.  Kane.] 

"  My  Deak  Brother  : — I  hope  you  were  in  time 
for  the  cars  yesterday  morning.  I  have  not  sent 
your  portrait  yet,  but  will  do  so  during  the  day.  It 
is  the  most  perfect  likeness  I  ever  saw  of  you.  Mrs. 
Walter,  l^Irs.  Bayard,  Dr.  Bayard,  Kate  and  I,  all 
go  to  Greenwood  Tuesday,  and  Saturday  take  a  short 
trip  with  a  bridal  party,  to  be  absent  a  few  days ;  and 
then  in  a  short  time  we  visit  Mrs.  Van  Warts  at 
their  country  seat.  So  you  see  my  time  will  be  wholly 
occupied  for  a  few  weeks ;  but  I  will  not  attempt  to 
tell  you  of  any  more  intended  pleasure-trips,  as  it  may 
be  to  impatient  ears.  •    • 

"  But,  my  dear  brother,  promise  me  once  more  that 


■'Ix 

■  t' 


206 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.  KANE. 


you  will  always  love  and  bless  me  with  a  brotherly 
love ;  and  should  fate,  as  you  say,  cxjmpel  us  to  part, 
will  you  not  solemnly  promise  to  love  and  think  of 
me  as  your  own  sister  ! 

"  I  am  confident  that  our  meetings  are  nearly  at  an 
end ;  but  you  will  think  of  your  sister  often — will 
you  not,  dear  Ly  ?  and  pray  for  her  happiness  ? 

"  I  have  just  taken  my  music  lesson,  and  have  more 
than  once  called  my  teacher  *  Doctor.'  I  am  sure, 
could  he  understand  English,  he  would  have  thought 
I  was  desperately  in  love  with  some  medical  gentle- 
man ;  but  he  is  none  the  wiser,  as  he  is  an  Italian, 
and  cannot  understand  a  word  of  English. 

"  When  do  you  expect  to  be  in  New  York  again  ? 
Katie  is  well,  pnd  sends  much  love.  I  suppose  you 
will  be  here  to  bid  your  good  friend  farewell  before 
he  sails  for  England.  What  a  loss  he  will  be  to 
New  York  1 

> .:         " From  your  sister 
.;      vv  V  ..  "Margabetta. 


P.  S. — ^I  am  very  sorry  that  little  Tommie  bit  your 
hand.  I  hope  it  does  not  give  you  pain.  Tommie  is 
very  cross  to  many.  You  must  not  be  superstitious, 
and  attribute  his  unkindness  to  any  fault  of  his  mis- 
tress. Dogs  are  very  strange  things,  and  Tommie  is 
very  sagacious,  and  thinks  himself  very  smart. 

"Maggie." 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.  KANE. 

Dr.  Kane  wrote  in  reply :       ^'^ '  -  '^^ 


207 


fA 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Mlaa  Fox.]     -' 
#  #  *  *  *  *  « 

"  Keep  up  your  refinement  by  daily,  patient  cul- 
ture. It  is  a  quality  even  higher  than  modesty.  I 
know  many  who  have  the  one,  yet  cannot  attain  the 
other.  Eub  hard,  '  little  spirit,'  at  your  crystal  vase, 
and  dear  Ly  will  help  you  to  brighten  it. 

"  What  a  dissipated  lady  you  have  become  I 
Greenwood  with  its  graves  on  Tuesday,  and  wedding 
parties  with  their  brides  on  Saturday  !  I  am  neither 
a  bride  nor  a  corpse,  so  how  can  I  catch  you  ?  On 
Friday  I  intended  to  have  seen  you,  but  your  list  of 
engagements  disappointed  me.  "When  will  you  be 
back  from  what  you  call  your  '  bridal  party  ?'  Per- 
haps that  is  what  you  mean  by  the  '  Fates  separating 
us' — you  are  going  to  be  a  bride  yourself  I  I  can  be 
with  you  whenever  you  return,  provided  there  is  no 
husband  along  with  you.  ' 

"  Sunday  night,  after  ten, — or  Monday  morning  to 
breakfast — or  Tuesday  : — only  say  when :  for  although 
I'm  an  obedient  brother,  and  a  faithful  slave,  I  am 
very,  very  busy,  and  cannot  ride  one  hundred  miles 
to  ride  back  again. 

"  With  my  best  compliments  to  Tommie,  believe 
me,  Maggie,  in  all  confidence 

"Your  Friend." 


H 


208 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


"  Tommie"  was  a  favorite  and  ill-tempered  poodle, 
with  blue  eyes ;  brought  over  from  England  by  Miss 
Charlotte  Cushman,  the  tragedienne.  He  had  been  in 
Miss  Maggie's  possession  several  years. 


Mrs.  Fox  had  several  serious  conversations  with 
Dr.  Kane,  and  strongly  intimated  her  wish  that  he 
would  abstain  from  visiting  a  young  lady  whom  his 
family  was  not  willing  to  receive  as  his  wife,  and 
who  might  be  injured  both  in  her  feelings  and  her 
reputation  by  a  continuance  of  his  attentions. 

Notwithstanding  such  rebukes,  Dr.  Kane  continued 
to  call — often  twice  and  thrice  a  day ;  while  in  the 
evening  he  was  certain  to  come  whenever  he  was  in 
New  York.  The  matter  caused  much  discussion 
among  Margaret's  friends,  and  a  meeting  was  ap- 
pointed by  Mrs.  Fox  and  Dr.  Gray  to  consult  toge- 
ther, as  to  what  was  best  to  be  done. 

Dr.  Kane  wrote  as  follows  just  before  this  meeting, 
which  was  to  take  place  on  the  "  coming  Friday : " 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  Oh,  write  to  me,  for  I  have  no  means  of  writing 
or  hearing  from  you.    I  fear  for  the  coming  Friday— 


red  poodle, 
id  by  Miss 
bad  been  in 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


209 


fear  for  my  friend  who  has  no  one  to  trust  to  but 
me;  and  on  Saturday  I  shall  be  in  New  York. 
Shall  I  call,  and  if  yes  I  at  what  hour  I  Answer  by 
bearer  or  by  mail. 

"Put  no  letters  in  the  Post  Office  that  are  not 
stamped  and  paid;  otherwise  they  will  not  send 
them." 


>ation8  with 
ish  that  he 
y  whom  his 
is  wife,  and 
ngs  and  her 
ions. 

ne  continued 
^hile  in  the 
;r  he  was  in 
discussion 
ing  was  ap- 
consult  toge- 


"I 


■;  f 


The  result  of  this  consultation  may  be  anticipated. 
It  was  decided  that  no  more  visits  should  be  received 
from  Dr.  Kane  under  the  circumstances.  Margaret 
was  obliged  to  promise  that  she  would  n  o  receive 
him  again,  and  that  she  would  not  correspond  with 
him.  She  was  told  that  her  reputation  would  be 
injured  were  she  to  break  this  promise.  She  com- 
missioned Mrs.  Walter  to  inform  Dr.  Kane  of  her 
decision,  and  that  it  was  her  earnest  desire  that  they 
should  meet  no  more. 

The  Doctor  refused  to  beUeve  this.  He  would 
never  believe  it,  he  said,  unless  he  heard  it  from  Mar- 
garet's own  lips. 

The  following  letter  was  sent  to  him  shortly  after- 
wards by  Miss  Fox. 


IS  of  writing 
ng  Friday— 


!' 


210 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


[Miss  Fox  to  Dr.  Kane.]         ,,    '     y 

"  Dear  Doctor  Kane  :— I  have  seen  you  for  the 
last  time.  I  have  been  deceived.  Your  last  inter- 
view with  me  has  been,  or  will  be,  I  know,  told  to 
Dr.  G ,  for  Kate  delights  in  annoying  me. 

"  I  must  either  give  you  up  from  this  moment  and 
for  ever,  or  give  up  those  who  are  very  dear  to  me, 
and  who  hold  my  name  and  reputation  as  sacred. 

"  I  can  never  see  you  again ;  but  remember  that 
you  will  be  ever  followed  by  my  choicest  love  and 
prayers.  Do  not  write  to  me,  for  it  will  only  pain 
me.  It  is  decided:  I  cannot  see  you  again.  You 
can  have  your  letters  if  you  wish  them.  No  one  can 
prevent  me  from  returning  them  to  you.  Do  as  you 
please ;  if  you  want  them,  send  Morton ;  and  every 
lettCT  shall  be  returned ;  but  do  rot  call  on  rae  again ; 
for  it  will  only  give  me  more  pain  and  trouble.  If 
you  have  the  least  spark  of  love,  or  even  friendship 
in  your  heart,  you  must  not  call  again. 

"Dr.  G said  this  evening  (and  so  did  Mrs. 

G )  that  I  must  refuse  to  see  you  for  ever  from 

this  moment,  or  they  would  disown  me.  They  have 
my  promise  never  to  see  you  again.  It  is  a  hard  task 
for  me,  but  I  have  decided.  One  thing  do  remember, 
you  have  my  love.  I  believe  in  your  honor  und 
truth,  and  cannot  be  changed.  Do  not  think  this  a 
mere  freak  of  mine — mere  idle  words — for  I  am  now 
talking  to  you  more  plainly  than  I  have  ever  dared 


before, 
write  tc 
DOW  un 
again ; 
wisely. 

"The 
he  think 
other? 
overlook 
us?  for 
hear  our 
misery, 
we  please 
"lam 
spend  a  \\ 
preparing 
sooner  or 


;,r':i 


Part  od 
before  th( 


"Here 
iny  confic 
Jib  an  01 


LOYE-LIPE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


211 


before.  If,  after  you  receive  this  letter,  you  should 
write  to  me,  I  would  burn  the  letter  unopened.  It  is 
DOW  understood  that  you  and  I  are  never  to  meet 
again ;  all  is  over,  and  I  have  decided,  I  ,rust 
wisely.    ■  '>'  ■  •'  ■'^''  *'  ■'  '■ 

"  There  is  one  who  knows  my  heart ;  why  should 
he  think  so  much  of  this  world  and  so  little  of  the 
other?  Why  try  to  please  the  eyta  of  mortals,  and 
overlook  those  eyes  which  are  continually  watching 
us  ?  for  the  time  is  not  distant  when  we  will  have  to 
hear  our  doom ;  either  happiness  awaits  us  or  eternal 
misery.  And  it  is  our  privilege  now  to  take  which 
we  please.         ^ 

"  I  am  sure  we  are  both  wise  enough,  and  ought  to 
spend  a  little  while  in  thinking  of  higher  things,  and 
preparing  ourselves  for  the  change  which  must  come 
sooner  or  later  to  every  one  on  earth."  ' 

'■--,.-..'-".      :::■-  ' '  riiin  f'-.A'../ >    ./r  .    . 

Part  of  the  following  was  written  by  Dr.  Kane 
before  the  receipt  of  the  foregoing. 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"Here  I  write  again,  dear  Pet  Lamb.  Does  not 
my  confidence  shame  you  ?  Oh,  Maggie,  I  read  you 
like  an  open  book.  . 


212 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.  KANE. 


"  Morton  visits  New  York  on  Navy  business ;  by 
him  I  send  this  letter.  Hard  work  is  upon  me,  and 
when  I  can  see  you  who  can  tell  ?  Write  me  often 
and  say  when.  ^     '    ^    ' 

"  One  of  my  friends  sends  me  a  bunch  of  winter 
violets.  She  is  a  pretty  being,  and  her  flowers  scent 
my  little  room.  By  the  time  they  reach  you  there 
will  be  nothing  left  of  their  fragrance.  There  is  many 
a  blessing  which,  passing  from  me  to  you,  loses  its 
soul  before  it  reaches  its  heaven.         ,  . 

"  Bye  bye. 

"  I  had  written  the  enclosed  note  before  I  received 
your  letter ;  Nevertheless  I  send  it,  Maggie,  for  it  will 
show  you  my  feelings. 

"Bear  up,  dear  little  one,  against  your  sorrows. 
God  knows  I  feel  more  for  you  than  for  myself.  Kate 
will  not  tell,  and  when  the  thing  blows  over  we  will 
meet  again.  • 

"  You  are  my  first  care,  and  you  do  right  in  trusting 
to  me.  If  (I  cannot  say  it),  if  we  really  are  to  be  rent 
asunder  by  these  cursed  meddlers,  still,  dear  Maggie, 
we  can  look  back  upon  old  times  and  take  com- 
fort. 

"  I  am  very  much  distressed ;  very  much ;  more  than 
'  Little  Humbug '  likes  to  say.  You  say  I  had  better 
not  write.  If  this  last  pleasure  be  denied  me,  surely 
you,  dear  Maggie,  can  write  to  me.     Oh,  do  this  I 

*'  As  to  your  dear  generous  offer  of  returning  my 
letters,  I  tremble — not  at  the  letters — but  at  the  fear 


that  y( 

trusted 

them  0 

me.    I 

I '  friends 

and  gi\ 

fear  for 

unhapp 

will  not 

requesti 

send  the 

of  trust  j 

"But 

same  to  ] 

^ar  one 

do  right  I 

iove  and 


ii 


LOVE-LIFE  OP  DR.   KANE. 


218 


your  sorrows. 

myself.    Kate 

^^s  over  we  will 

right  in  trusting 
y  are  to  be  rent 
11,  dear  Maggie, 
and  take  com- 

luch;  more  than 
say  I  bad  better 
3nied  me,  surely 
Ob,  dotbisl 
of  returning  my 
-but  at  the  fear 


that  you  have  not  understoci  me.  I  never  have  dis- 
trusted you,  or  even  asked  for  those  notes.  With 
them  or  without  them  you  were  always  the  same  to 
me.  I  only  felt  and  feared  tbat  suspicious,  designing 
.  friends  or  enemies  might  see  and  abuse  these  letters 
and  give  me  pain  and  trouble.  I  fear  for  them  and  I 
fear  for  you.  I  confess  that  their  absence  makes  me 
unhappy ;  but,  as  I  am  an  honorable  gentleman,  I 
will  not  deprive  you  of  them,  or  give  you  pain  by 
requesting  them.  If  of  your  own  free  choice  you 
send  them  to  me,  I  will  regard  it  as  the  highest  proof 
of  trust  and  love. 

"  But  with  them  or  without  them,  you  shall  be  the 
same  to  me.  And  now  may  God  bless  you,  my  own 
dear  one  I  and  may  you  be  guarded  in  this  world  to 
do  right  I  /will  never  cease  to  watch  over  you,  to 
love  and  guard  you. 

"  E.  K.  Kane."    . 


It  should  be  noticed  that  Dr.  Kane  afterwards 
refused  to  receive  his  letters,  when  they  were  oiBfered 
I  on  several  occasions.  He  was  hurt  at  Margaret's  wil- 
lingness to  part  with  them  even  to  himself.  Some- 
times he  would  destroy  a  letter  to  tease  her ;  or  hide, 
and  afterwards  return  it. 


m 
1 1 


I 


214 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DE.  KANE. 


xvni. 

The  Doctor  was  in  no  way  disposed  to  submit  to 

this  fiat  of  friends.    One  day  calling  on  Mrs.  W , 

he  insisted  on  her  accompanying  him  to  Tenth  street, 
and  demanded  an  interview  with  Miss  Fox.  Though 
crushed  with  sorrow  and  weeping  bitterly,  the  poor 
girl  was  immovable  in  her  resolution,  and  the  Doc- 
tor acknowledged  she  was  right.  "But  the  world 
shall  not  aay,  Maggie,"  he  cried,  "  that  you  are  the 
discarded  one!  no,  no — it  is  you  who  reject  me! 
Dr.  Kane  is  the  discarded  lover  I"  and  he  threw  him- 
self on  his  knees  before  the  trembling  and  sobbing 
girl.  "  Speak,  Maggie  I"  he  continued,  "  my  destiny 
is  in  your  hands  I" 

Margaret  replied  that  she  would  not  marry  him 
His  relations  were  too  violently  opposed  to  the  match. 
It  would  make  him  unhappy,  and  she  would  rather 
part  from  him  for  ever  than  make  him  wretched  in 
such  a  way  I 

Again  and  again  he  said  to    Mrs.  W ,  "1 

know  her  love,  her  goodness  •  and  purity !  As  far 
as  these  are  concerned,  1  would  marry  her  to-mor- 
row I" 

"  The  world's  dread  laugh"  he  might  have  scorned, 
but  the  distress  of  his  family — who  could  |iot  bear 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


215 


to  submit  to 
Mrs.  W , 

)  Tenth  street, 
Fox.    Though 
«rly,  the  poor 
and  the  Doc- 
But  the  world 
lat  you  are  the 
7 ho  reject  mel 
[  he  threw  bim- 
ig  and  sobbing 
ij  "my  destiny 


[ht  have  scorned, 
could  f ot  bear 


the  idea  that  his  honored  name  should  be  linked  with 
that  of  one  who  had  been,  though  but  a  few  months, 
associated  with  "  spirit-rapping  " — that  was  the  obsta- 
cle he  dared  not  surmount  I  In  the  perplexity  and 
anguish  of  the  hour  he  did  not  consider  that  the  pride 
which  could  take  alarm  at  a  silly  popular  prejudice 
was  not  worth  being  spared.  Let  those  who  are  dis- 
posed to  condemn  his  conduct  consider  the  circum- 
stances in  which  he  was  placed  :  his  present  want  of 
pecuniary  independence,  his  education  in  erroneous 
ideas  of  social  elevation,  and  the  incessant  torture 
to  which  he  was  subjected  from  the  urgent  remon- 
strances of  friends  and  the  sneers  of  those  indifferent 
to  him. 

Dr.  Kane  continued  to  call  frequently  in  Tenth 

street,  in  spite  of  Margaret's  refusal  to  see  him,  and 

the  remonstrances  of  her  friends.    They  urged  that 

she  was  weak  in  health ;  the  agitation  she  had  gone 

through  had  hurt  her ;  and  the  excitement,  if  kept 

up,  would  inevitabl}'^  kill  her.     The  engagement — 

friendship — or  whatever  it  was  called,  must  be  broken 

off  and  buried  for  ever.    Often,  again  and  again  in  a 

day,  he  went  to  the  house  and  talked  with  Mrs.  Fox, 

if  he  could  not  see  her  daughter.    He  could  not  give 

her  up  I  he  would  part  with  life  sooner  1     When  the 

mother  urged  that  she  had  her  child's  reputation  to 

guard,  and  would  rather  follow  her  to  the  grave  than 

see  her  fair  name  tarnished,  he  would  ask  why  he 

could  not  have  a  brother's  right  to  guard  her  fame — 


B 


216 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.    KANE. 


i 


to  punish  all  who  might  dare  assail  it  I  He  knew 
her  love  was  unchanged ;  his  own  was  so  ;  who  could 
watch  so  tenderly,  so  jealously  over  her,  to  banish 
every  thought  of  evil  I  Nothing  enraged  him  so 
much  as  the  bare  idea  that  unjust  aspersions  might 
be  cast  upon  her. 

Meanwhile,  reports  were  rife  in  the  newspapers,  as 
if  it  were  a  pleasure  to  harpies  of  the  press  to  torture 
two  loving  hearts.  The  following  editorial  appeared 
in  the  New  York  Tribune  of  November  6th,  1855 : — 


i! 


"DE.   KANE  AND  MISS  POX. 

"  We  wish  the  several  journals  which  have  origin- 
ated reports,  pro  and  con^  respecting  the  persons  above 
named,  would  consider  whether  they  have  or  have 
not  therein  perverted  their  columns  to  the  gratifica- 
tior  of  an  impertinent  curiosity.  What  right  has  the 
public  to  know  anj'thing  about  an  *  engagement '  or 
non-engagement  between  these  young  people?  If 
this  were  a  monarchy,  and  one  or  both  of  them  were 
of  the  blood  royal,  there  would  be  an  excuse  for  re- 
ports and  speculation  with  regard  to  their  relations  to 
each  other ;  but  in  the  actual  state  of  the  case,  such 
intimations  as  have  appeared  in  the  journals  are  not 
to  be  justified.  Whether  they  have  been,  are,  may 
be,  are  not,  or  will  not  be,  'engaged,' — can  be  no- 
body's business  but  their  own  and  that  of  their  near 


LOVE-LIFE  OP  DR.   KANE. 


^17 


He  knew 
;  who  could 
5r,  to  banish 
ged  him  so 
raions  might 

iwspapers,  as 
38S  to  torture 
rial  appe?jed 
th,  1855  :— 


relatives.    Then  why  should  the  press  trumpet  their 
names  in  connection  with  each  other  ?"  * 


1  have  origin- 
persons  above 
bave  or  have 
the  gratifica- 
right  has  the 
gagement'  or 
people  ?     If 
of  them  were 
excuse  for  re- 
dr  relations  to 
the  case,  such 
•urnals  are  not 
)een,  are,  may 

' can  he  no- 

t  of  their  near 


One  evening,  in  a  company  whore  one  of  the  edi- 
tors of  the  Daily  Times  was  present,  the  question  was 
brought  up — as  it  had  been  in  many  circles — if  Dr. 


*  The  following  appeared  in  The  Fennsylvanian  of  Nov.  19th, 
1865. 

•'  DR.   KANB. 

"  The  foolish  story  of  the  engagement  of  Dr.  Kane,  the  Arctic  navi- 
gator, to  one  of  the  spirit-rapping  Pox  girls,  is  thus  explained  by  a 
Philadelphia  correspondent  of  the  Boston  Traveller : — 

** '  Some  time  previous  to  the  departure  of  Dr.  Kane  on  his  last 
expedition,  a  subscription  was  started  in  New  York  by  a  number  of 
liberal,  kind-hearted  gentlemen,  for  the  purpose  of  educating  one  of 
the  Pox  sisters,  a  remarkably  bright,  inteUigent  girl,  and  worthy  of 
a  better  employment  than  '  spirit-rapping.'  Dr.  Kane  was  applied  to, 
and  feeUng  somewhat  interested,  from  pure  motives  of  humanity 
subscribed  with  a  sailor's  liberality.  On  his  return,  by  invitation 
of  the  gentleman  superintending  her  education,  he  called  to  witness 
the  improvement  of  his  proteg^ ;  and  from  this  simple  incident  has 
arisen  the  engagement  story.'  "  . , 

Then  followed  comments  upon  the  noble  liberality  of  the  Kane 
family. 

Dr.  Kane  cut  out  the  above  extract  and  read  it  to  his  Maggie  with 
chuckling  fun,  pinching  her  arm  mischievously  as  "  the  noble  libe- 
rality "  of  his  family  was  mentioned. 

10 


I' 


■11 


/ 


218 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


Kane  was  really  engaged  to  Miss  Fox.  An  article 
in  the  Evening  Post  denying  that  it  was  so  "  on  the 
best  autliority "  was  referred  to.  A  lady  present, 
who  was  noted  for  her  abhorrence  of  falsehood  and 
meanness,  rather  indignantly  replied  that  she  knew 
there  was,  or  had  been,  an  engagement.  The  follow- 
ing statement  appeared  in  the  Tirruis  of  the  following 
day:— 


"  Dr.  Kane's  Prospects. — We  are  confidently  as- 
sured that  the  Editor  of  The  Evening  Post  has  no 
reason  to  contradict  the  report  of  the  engagement  of 
Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Margaret  Fox." 

This  was  followed  on  the  succeeding  day,  by  a 
contradiction  in  the  Times :  "  Our  informant  having 
acknowledged  that  it  was  a  mistake,  &c."  This  con- 
tradiction had  been  insisted  on  by  some  party  furious 
in  the  Kane  interest — who  threatened  vengeance 
against  the  person  who  had  made  the  assertion — could 
he  learn  who  it  was ;  the  Times  editor  having  refused 
to  give  the  lady's  name.  On  hearing  this — the  lady 
wrote  a  note  to  Dr.  Kane,  acknowledging  herself  the 
author  of  the  statement,  which  she  had  made  on 
grounds  amply  sufficient  to  warrant  belief.  She 
added,  that  had  she  heard  the  denial  from  Dr.  Kane's 
own  lips,  she  would  have  felt  bound  to  believe  it — 
as  she  could  not  conceive  of  a  gentleman  being  so 
cowardly  or  so  wicked  as  to  be  influenced  by  fears  of 


LOVE-LIFE   OF   DR.    KANE. 


219 


Ln  article 
>  "  on  the 
\f  present, 
ehood  and 
she  knew 
'he  foUow- 
5  following 


day,  by  a 
iant  having 

This  con- 
,arty  furious 
vengeance 
'tion — could 
ving  refused 
g_the  lady 
herself  the 
,d  made  on 
belief.    She 

Dr.  Kane's 
believe  it— 
an  being  so 
a  by  fears  of 


1 


the  prejudices  of  stupid  people,  to  repudiate  an  en- 
gagement to  a  lovely  and  virtuous  girl.  This  mis- 
sive, instead  of  irritating  the  Doctor  by  its  spirited 
and  severe  wording,  elicited  from  him  expressions  of 
admiration  and  respect.  His  nature  was  noble  enough 
for  sympathy  with  generous  feeling.  He  told  the 
incident  to  Mrs.  Fox  and  her  family,  and  seemed 
much  pleased  with  the  sharp  tone  of  the  letter. 

It  was  but  natural  that  the  appearance  of  these 
cruel  articles  should  cause  indignant  feeling  among 
the  friends  of  Miss  Fox.  They  blamed  the  Doctor 
in  part ;  for  a  frank  avowal  of  the  whole  truth  to  his 
friends,  they  thought,  would  have  silenced  the 
press. 

How  this  affected  Dr.  Kane  may  be  seen  from 
the  notes  he  persisted  in  sending. 


iv'r- 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Mlas  Fox.] 


"  I  have  promised  Mrs.  W never  to  see  you 

again;  but  they  tell  me  you  have  lost  your  confi- 
dence in  me,  and  that,  instead  of  leaning  upon  me  as 
a  brother,  you  distrust  me  as  a  friend.  Now  I  beg 
you  to  adopt  some  means  by  which  I  may  explain 


4 


ii 


ill  I 


'i 


220 


LOVE-LIPE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


anything  which  may  seem  to  give  you  pain.    You 
may  command  me  as  a  brother  in  everything." 


[Dr.  Kane  to  MiBS  Fox.] 

"  Do  please  to  see  me.  I  have  rode  all  night  in 
order  to  comfort  you,  and  must  see  you  before  I  re- 
turn." 


^n:'-" 


[Dr.  E&ne  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  My  Dear  Maggie  : — ^I  have  thought  over  your 
excellent  letter,  and  as  I  seldom  praise  you,  believe 
me  when  I  say  that  it  is  with  increased  respect. 

"  I  am  forced  to  agree  with  you  that  our  present 
meetings,  I  fear,  must  end.    *    * 
'    '  You  always  respected  me ;  henceforward  I  will 
strive  to  deserve  your  respec^^t. 

"I  accept  your  offered  friendship,  and  will  try 
and  sustain  you  in  the  trial  which,  with  true  nobiUty 
of  character,  you  have  imposed  upon  yourself. 

"  On  Wednesday  I  will  see  you." 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.  KANE. 


221 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  I  send  this  note,  dear  Maggie,  to  say  to  you  that, 
finding  that  I  could  not  come  on  Wednesday,  I 
come  to-day,  and  leave  this  afternoon  at  four 
o'clock. 

"  Write  me  word  at  once  when  you  can  see 
me. 

"  With  my  regards  to  your  mother  and  Katie,  be- 
lieve me  truly, 

"Your  friend, 

"E.  K.  Kane." 


Thus  determined  was  the  Doctor  not  to  be  entirely 
deprived  of  the  privilege  of  seeing  or  hearing  from 
his  still  loved  one. 

Some  newspaper  publications  drew  this  letter  from 
Miss  Fox,  to  the  Doctor : 


[Miss  Fox  to  Dr.  Kane.] 


"  I  enclose  two  articles  from  the  Herald  and  Ex- 
press  which  have  greatly  distressed  and  worried  me. 
Many  of  my  friends  have  called  (and  you  are  aware 
of  the  position  my  friends  hold)  and  requested  per- 


222 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


mission  to  answer  the  articles  in  the  newspapers. 
My  mother  has  had  much  diiiiculty  in  preventing 
them  from  doing  so.  But  I  cannot  prevent  them 
from  doing  what  they  think  just  and  due  to  me — 
now  that  they  say  their  silence  places  me  in  a  false 
position. 

"  I  cannot  tell  you  how  unhappy  it  makes  me  to 
think  of  my  affairs  being  in  the  mouths  of  so  many 
strange  persons,  and  the  subject  of  newspaper  com- 
ment. 

"  I  suffer,  too,  on  your  own  account ;  for  all  this 
talk  for  and  against  cannot  fail  to  injure  you,  as  well 
as  myself.  It  would  grieve  me  (you  must  know  how 
much),  even  were  we  never  to  meet  again,  to  hear  you 
spoken  of  as  a  person  who  had  no  regard  for  his 
honor  or  his  word.  I  am  but  a  simple  girl,  and  peo- 
ple might  soon  forget  any  idle  gossip  about  me«  But 
you  are  more  widely  known,  and  a  stain  on  your 
honor  would  be  hard  to  efface.  I  should  not  think 
of  such  things,  believe  me,  but  that  they  are  forced 
upon  my  mind  by  what  I  know  many  persons 
say. 

"  I  have  implicit  confidence  in  you,  and  trust  that 
you  will  think  of  some  right  and  proper  means  to 
silence  all  this  disturbance  and  meddling.  I  believe 
the  newspaper  writers  make  it  their  business  to  pry 
into  every  one's  business  and  affairs ;  so  that  we  may 
not  be  able  to  escape  their  scrutiny.  But  neither  of 
us  should  give  sanction  to  any  statement  not  strictly 


LOVE-LIFE  OP  DR.   KANE. 


223 


true.    If  we  depart  from  the  straight  path,  we  shall 
be  sure  to  suffer  for  it  in  one  way  or  another. 

"  Very  sincerely  yours, 

"Margaret  Fox. 

"Db.  Kakb." 


The  following  came  with  a  box  of  bonbons  from 
Philadelphia,  at  the  festival  season : 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"Misses  Maggie  and  Kate  Fox,  with  the  kind 

wishes  of  the  Christmas  se^on,  from  Dr.  Kane. 

"Philadelphia,  Dec.  23d,  1855. 
"Miss  Fox." 


Two  months  later  the  cloud  was  lifted.  Dr.  Kane 
possessed  the  entire  confidence  of  the  family,  and  it 
was  painful  for  them  all  to  treat  him  unkindly,  or  to 
persevere  in  declining  to  receive  his  friendly  visits. 
Notwithstanding  the  sentence  of  exclusion,  he  appears 
to  be  again  on  a  footing  of  intimacy. 


W'.-i 


224 


LOVE-LIFE  OP  DR.    KANE. 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Mrs.  Fox.] 

"Fbtoay,  1  p.  M. 

"  My  Dear  Madam  : — I  send  my  friend  Maggie's 
handkerchief,  which  must  have  dropped  from  her 
muff.  You  see  what  a  nice,  active  washerwoman  1 
have. 

"  Would  you  do  me  the  kindness  to  ask  Katie  at 
what  hour  precisely  my  sleigh  shall  be  at  your  door, 
and  to  beg  her  and  Maggie  to  dress  warmly  ?    I  am 
free  from  engagements  from  four  o'clock  P.M. 
"  Very  respectfully,  your  friend, 

"E.  K.  Kane." 


[Dr.  Eone  to  Miss  Fox.] 

*  *  *  "  I  think  that  I  had  better  postpone  seeing 
Mrs.  W until  my  next  sojourn  in  New  York. 

"  I  did  not  attend  the  dinner.    "Was  Lieut.  Grey 
there? 

.     "E.  K.  Kane. 

"Febeuaey  23d,  1856." 


Dr.  Kane  always  said — and  the  fact  cannot  be 
doubted— that  his  health  was  seriously  injured  by  the 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


225 


struggle  of  feeling  he  underwent  during  that  winter. 
He  would  sometimes  ask  Margaret  to  put  her  hand 
upon  his  heart,  and  feel  its  violent  and  irregular  beat- 
ings. But  his  true  and  constant  affection  was  not 
long  to  be  crushed  under  the  Juggernaut  wheels  of 
unjust  and  absurd  prejudice.  It  soon  rose  triumphant 
to  resume  its  throne. 

The  disposition  of  Mrs.  Fox  may  be  seen  from  the 
subjoined  letter — written  apparently  under  the  uneasi- 
ness caused  by  fresh  gossip,  or  the  remarks  of 
friends  on  her  want  of  firmness  in  still  permitting 
interviews  and  letters  between  the  partially  estranged 
lovers. 


[Mrs.  Fox  to  Dr.  Kane.] 

"  Dr.  Kane, — ^Dear  Sir : — A  letter  was  addressed 
to  my  daughter  Margaret,  whicl  ,  under  the  circum- 
rtances,  I  deemed  it  proper  to  open  and  read.  It  is 
best  for  the  happiness  and  interest  of  my  child  that 
you  should  discontinue  your  visits,  and  also  leave  off 
writing  to  her.  My  motives  I  hope  you  will  under- 
stand, and  respect  my  feelings. 

"  Very  respectfully, 

,  "M.  Fox. 

"Maeoh  23d,  1866." 


10* 


226  LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 

Dr.  Kane's  answer  was  sent  to  Margaret : 

1  _  ■       - 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Mlsa  Fox.] 

"  My  Dear  Maggie  : — Your  mother  requested 
me  not  to  write  to  you.  I  beg,  therefore,  that  you 
will  show  her  this  letter.  I  have  just  arrived,  and 
will  see  you  at  any  hour  convenient  to  yourself;  but 
will  not  if  your  mother  has  the  slightest  objection. 
I  really  think,  for  your  own  sake,  that  I  had  better 
make  this  my  last  visit.  All  I  think  of,  dear  Mag- 
gie, is  your  reputation.  As  for  myself,  I'm  only 
half  a  gentleman ;   for  they  make  me  tell  so  many 

stories^  that  I'll  be  ashamed  to  look  Mrs.  E in  the 

face. 

"  Believe  me  always  your  friend  and  brother, 

"  E.  K.  Kane. 

"  Say  when  by  servant."  . 


Here  is  an  effort  to  return  to  the  formal  tone  of  a 
mere  acquaintance  • 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Mlaa  Fox.] 

"  My  Dear  Maggie  : — Would  you  -do  me  the 
kindness  to  accept  this  little  engraving  of  your  Arctic 
friend  and  well-wisher  ?     Although  a  mere  trifle,  it 


•; 


LOVE-LIFE   OF  DR.    KANE. 


227 


may  serve  as  an  evidence  of  my  high  respect  for  your 
character,  and  will,  I  hope,  assure  you  of  my  continued 
and  brotherly  interest  in  your  welfare. 

"  With  my  best  regards  to  your  mother  and  sister, 
believe  me  your  friend, 

"E.  K.  Kane. 

"  Vmbs  Book,  April  21st,  1866. 
"Miss  Fox.  Tenth  Street 


Several  notes  of  the  same  sort  evince  the  writer's 
determination  to  be  kept  in  remembrance,  notwith- 
standing prohibitions.  But  it  was  not  for  long  that 
he  could  enact  a  part  foreign  to  his  feelings. 


li. 


w 


228 


LOVE-LIFE   OF   DR.   KANE. 


XIX. 


I 


One  day,  in  the  latter  part  of  April,  1856,  while 
Mrs.  Fox  was  making  preparations  for  removal  to 
Twenty-second  street,  Dr.  Kane  called  at  her  house  in 
Tenth  street,  and  finding  Margaret  was  out,  waited 
for  her  return.  He  was  sad  and  depressed,  having 
lately  come  from  the  funeral  of  a  friend.  When  he 
heard  Margaret  come  in,  he  concealed  himself  behind 
the  parlor  door,  and  as  she  entered,  darted  out  and 
clasped  her  in  his  arms.  Startled  at  his  vehemence, 
the  young  lady  strove  to  extricate  herself;  but  he 
only  clasped  her  more  closely,  raining  kisses  on  her 
head,  and  crying — "  My  own  Maggie  I — ^you  are  again 
mine — the  betrothed  wife  of  Dr.  Kane !  What  more 
could  you  ask  ?" — He  then  took  from  his  finger  and 
put  on  her  own,  a  ring — memorable  from  having  been 
found  in  the  Arctic  regions — to  commemorate  their 
renewed  engagement ;  giving  her  also  a  locket  con- 
taining the  hair  and  initials  of  his  deceased  brother 
Willie.  He  cared  no  longer — he  averred — for  the 
world's  opinion  or  its  sneers  :  his  beloved  was  all  in 
all  to  him.  On  this  occasion  he  remained  three  or 
four  hours,  and  the  joyful  news  was  communicated  to 
the  family,  with  injunctions  of  secresy.  When  he 
parted  from  them  at  the  door,  and  went  into  the  street, 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DK.   KANE. 


229 


1856,  while 
removal  to 
her  house  in 
\  out,  waited 
38sed,  having 
I.     When  he 
mself  behind 
irted  out  and 
is  vehemence, 
irself ;  but  he 
kisses  on  her 
you  are  again 
What  more 
|hi8  finger  and 
having  been 
^emorate  their 
a  locket  con- 
leased  brother 
jrred — for  the 
ed  was  all  in 
filled  three  or 
manicated  to 
When  he 
linto  the  street, 


he  called  out — "  Now,  Maggie  I — Remember," — while 
she  held  up  the  ring  on  her  finger  in  token  that  she 
understood  him. 

HLs  friend's  death  is  referred  to  in  a  note  that  came 
soon  afterwards : 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  My  Dear  Maggie  : — ^I  am  quite  broken  by  my 
recent  loss.  Your  letter — if  you  have  written — has 
not  yet  been  received. 

"If  your  mother  sees  fit,  I  will  call  this  evening. 
Would  you  oblige  me  by  writing  word  if  it  is  con- 
venient? 

"  Your  friend  fiiithfully, 

"E.  K.  Kane." 


Miss  Maggie  returned  the  following  note : 

[M1b8  Fox  to  Dr.  Kane.] 

"My  Dear  Doctor  Kane: — I  should  be  very 

happy  to  see  you  this  evening :  but  Mrs.  W 

wishes  me  to  spend  the  fore  part  of  the  evening  with 
her,  as  she  is  going  to  have  a  small  party.  I  can  be 
home  by  ten,  or  half-past  ten.  If  you  will  excuse  the 
hour,  I  should  be  happy  to  see  you  then." 


ii 


I 


!!• 


H 


230 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


Again  she  wrote:  f 

#  *  « I  ^iii  'vsrear  your  locket  next  my  heart, 
and  love  it  for  ever  and  ever.  It  shall  be  my  rosary. 
I'll  wear  it  to  save  me  from  evil." 


i! 


The  young  Udy  thus  answered  a  letter  from  the 
Doctor  sealed  with  green  wax : 

[Miss  Fox  to  Dr.  Kane.] 

*  Your  letter,  with  its  forsaken  seal,  reached  me 
this  morning.  I  looked  for  you  Thursday  evening, 
and  was  quite  disappointed  at  not  seeing  you. 

"  I  have  received  an  invitation  to  attend  a  party 
Saturday  evening ;  but  if  you  will  come,  I  will  stay 
at  hoTne^  as  I  am  not  very  well.  I  have  been  quite  ill 
for  the  last  week  with  a  severe  cold  on  my  lungs.  I 
shall  expect  to  see  you  Saturday  evening,  and  will  be 
disappointed  if  you  do  not  come.  I  am  also  invited 
to  attend  another  party  Monday  evening,  and  will  go 
if  I  am  well  enough. 

"  I  have  more  news  for  you :  it  was  told  me  by  a 
sincere,  true  friend,  an  editor,  not  a  washerwoman. 

"  Yours  sincerely, 

"  Margaret  Fox. 

"Db.  Kanb." 


• 

/ 

»M~'. 

LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 

• 

231 

The  allusion  to  a  "  washerwoman"  referred  to  the 
comments  of  one  employed  in  Mrs.  Fox's  family, 
on  the  Doctor's  lover-like  behavior;  with  his  jests 
thereon.  t 


•  ' 


He  replied  to  the  above : 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"My  Dear  Maggie: — I  cannot  meet  you  until 
Monday  night,  but  I'm  sure  you  do  not  mourn  more 
than  I  do  our  broken  tryst.  No  matter,  my  dear 
sister;  we  will  think  of  each  other  until  the  time 
comes  for  our  blessing.  Watch  then  the  lingering 
minutes,  and  await  me  when  the  shadows  lengthen. 

"Love  to  Katie  and  Washbosh.* 

r  "Moses. 

••  Saturday." 


From  this  time  Dr.  Kane  visited  Maggie  every  day 
while  he  was  in  New  York,  and  their  drives  and  visits 
to  places  of  amusement  were  resui  led.  He  became 
playful  and  happy  as  before.     One  evening  at  the 


*  Col.  Ashboth. 


■n  I 


232 


LOVK-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


opera,  where  Margaret  looked  lovely  in  her  blue  silk 
and  white  opera  cloak,  he  was  heard  to  say,  "As 
usual,  I  see  my  little  Maggie  has  lost  or  forgotten  her 
handkerchief.  Here — take  mine — pet  lamb  I"  hand- 
ing his  to  her  before  the  company.  He  had  rare  powers 
of  mimicry,  and  often  convulsed  his  friends  with 
laughter  at  his  droll  imitations.    He  would  sometimes 

mimic  the  fashionable  Mrs.  R ,  of  Philadelphia. 

Sometimes  he  might  be  seen  perched  on  a  lofty  seat, 
adorned  with  an  old  lady's  cap  and  spectacles,  reading 
a  huge  volume.  Once,  when  a  curious  old  lady  waa 
a  guest  of  Mrs.  Fox,  he  persuaded  Margaret  to  tell  her 
a  great  professor  and  lecturer  was  in  the  parlor ;  and 
forthwith  commenced  a  discourse  on  abstruse  scientific 
subjects  in  the  most  elaborate  style,  and  in  a  loud 
tone  of  voice,  ^or  her  edification.  In  such  boyish 
pastimes  he  delighted,  and  his  return  to  them  showed 
a  heart  once  more  at  ease. 

Some  little  time  before,  when  Miss  Kate  was  hold- 
ing a  private  circle,  of  which  one  was  a  homoeopathic 
physician,  the  Doctor  proposed  a  practical  joke,  and 
wrote  out  the  following  spirit  oracles : — 


"  Let  not  the  doctrine  which  was  conceived  in  toil, 
rear  a  giant  growth  of  ignorance  and  miscompre- 
hension." 

"  Similia  refer  not  to  things  which  are  in  themselves 
the  same,  but  to  those  alike  by  sympathies." 

"Study  remedies  ah  initio ;  for  it  matters  not  to 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


283 


augment  a  force  where  we  know  not  the  agent  of  pro- 
pulsion." 

Miss  Maggie,  however,  protested  against  the  joke 
being  played  out. 

The  wonted  shower  of  notes  and  letters  recom- 
menced ;  most  of  them  written  in  haste,  amid  press- 
ing labors,  and  hardly  illustrative  enough  for  publi- 
cation in  this  memoir.    One  or  two  will  suffice. 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  Bear  Maggie  : — I  know  I  ought  to  be  in  Phila- 
delphia, but  I  really  cam  )t  bear  to  leave. 

"Yet  I  fear  you  have  some  engagement  to-night,     Y, 
which  you  cannot  postpone. 

"  Send  word  if  you  wish  me  to  stay,  and  at  what 

hour  I  must  be  with  you.     Tell  Mrs.  F that  my 

one  good  answer  last  night  makes  me  anxious  to  try 
again. 

"  If  you  are  engaged,  do  say  so.    Always  be  at 
home  with  Elish'.    Do  whatever  pleases  you  best." 


It  is  probable  the  following  refers  to  some  idle  gos- 
sip, or  fears  concerning  it : — 


I 


284 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  L»F..  KANE. 


lit 


M, 


[Dr.  EftLe  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  My  Dear  Maggie  : —  *  *  *  I  am  not  ner- 
vous, but  you  must  write  to  me.  "Write,  I  say ;  write 
at  once.  I  cannot  come  on  to  see  you.  I  will  not 
come  until  you  distinctly  tell  me  in  your  letter  that 
you  wish  me  to  come — and  say  when  you  will  be 
disengaged.  Excuse  me,  my  little  Maggie,  if  I  am 
abrupt ;  but  I  never  loved  yoa  better  than  at  this 
moment ;  and,  if  you  are  what  I  hope  you  are,  you 
will  like  mt  the  better  for  this  hurried,  truthful  letter. 
Read  every  word  of  it  to  Katie ;  take  her  advice,  and 
write  at  once  to  me. 

"E.  K.  Kane." 


[Dr.  Eane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  I  will  call  at  seven,  and  if  Mrs.  Fox  has  no  objec- 
tion, tako  you  and  Kate  to  the  Lecture.  I  suppose, 
as  Electricity  is  the  sub^-.?t,  he  will  say  nothing  about 
spirits. 

"  Write  word  by  bearer  if  seven  o'clock  suits." 


In  several  notes  like  the  follow.ing  he  joked  with 
Miss  Kate : — 


LOVE-LIFE   or  DR.   KANE. 


235 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Eato  Fox.] 

"  Dear  Kate  : — Tell  your  mother  that  I  think 
that  I  had  better  not  go  to  the  theatre  with  you,  but 
I  will  call  up  with  my  questions  this  evening  at  six 
o'clock.  Tell  Maggie  not  to  laugh,  but  to  treat  the 
matter  gravely,  and  apologize  to  your  mother  for  the 
trouble  which  I  gave  her  last  evening. 
"  I  was  just  about  to  leave  town. 

"  Yery  faithfully,  your  friend, 

"  E.  K.  Kane. 

"MiSB  Pox.  "Tuesday." 


Iq  the  house  occupied  by  Mrs.  F6x  in  Twenty- 
second  street,  Maggie  had  a  prettily  furnished  parlor 
on  the  third  floor,  where  Dr,  Kane  and  she  sometimes 
sat,  when  strangers  were  expected  in  the  family  par- 
lor, or  when  Miss  Kate  had  a  "  circle."  Mrs.  Fox  on 
one  occasion  objected  to  the  Doctor's  entering  this 
room,  on  account  of  its  being  out  of  order.  He  wrote 
the  next  day : — 


•i  1 


[Dr.  EanA  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  I  start  in  a  few  minutes,  but  cannot  leave  without 
sending  you  a  drop  of  comfort,  and  thanking  you  for 
a  most  delightful  evening. 


\y 


u 


I 


236 


LOVE-LIFfi  OF  DB.  KANE. 


"  Tell  your  mother  not  to  distress  herself  about  the 
third  story  room.  I  regard  it  as  a  sort  of  sanctuary : 
a  retreat  to  which  we  are  driven  by  mischief-making 
eyes  and  tongues.  There,  like  wounded  deer,  we 
escape  from  the  hunters ;  and  if  we,  both  of  us,  are 
conscious  of  doing  no  wrong,  whose  business  i's  it  if 
we  seek  a  shelter  ?  Nevertheless,  dear  Maggie,  I  want 
to  be  very  careful,  and  cannot  bear  to  give  you  a 
moment's  pain  or  care.  When  we  see  each  ether 
again  I  will  be  very  good,  and  you  will  remember  me 
with  the  respect  of  a  brother. 

"  We  are  friends  now. 

.      ^ '       "Bye  bye. 

"  Write  me  an  answer  if  this  comes  safely  to  yoxi." 


This  was  left  on  the  table  one  day : 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"Eleven  o'dock. 

"  Dear  Maggie  : — ^I  have  waited  long  and  wearily 
in  the  little  third  story  room,  and  now  I  hie  me  back 
to  my  solitary  home. 

"Where  there  is  no  confidence  there  can  be  no 
warmer  feeling.    I  do  not  know  where  you  spend 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DB.   KANE. 


237 


the  evening,  but  I  know  that  you  will  sleep  none  the 
sounder  for  having  given  pain  to  your  friend  and 
brother." 


, 


The  following  seems  to  be  in  reply  to  some  letter  of 
Margaret's  that  gave  pain  or  displeasure,  and  shows 
the  kind  of  logic  by  which  the  Doctor  must  have 
quieted  his  conscience  when  it  charged  him  with  tri- 
fling or  inconsistency. 


1 


[Dr.  K&ne  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  Dear  Maggie  : — ^You  see  that,  as  in  old  times,  I 
confide  in  you  and  write.  So  much  for  my  inability 
to  say  *no'  to  you.  You  asked  for  a  letter — ^be- 
hold it  1 

"Where  shall  I  begin?  Will  you  have  a  long 
story  ?  *  The  History  of  the  Spirit  llappers ' — or  one 
of  my  queer  wild  tales  of  Norman  Knights  and 
Weeping  Vestals  ?    Suppose  I  begin  thus : — 

"  Once  in  the  mornings  of  old,  I  read  in  a  penny 
newspaper  that  for  one  dfillsLV  the  inmates  of  another 
world  would  rap  to  me  the  secrets  of  this  one ;  the 
deaths  of  my  friends,  the  secret  thoughts  of  my  sweet- 
hearts; all  things  spirit-like  and  incomprehensible 


u 


238 


liOVE-LIFK  OF  DB.  KAITE. 


would  be  resolved  into  hard  knocks,  and  all  for 
one  dollar  I  'Strange!'  thought  I;  *so  much  for 
so  little!  all  this  for  one  dollar!  I'll  go  and  see 
them !' 

"  With  that,  all  alone  I  wended  my  way  to  a  hotel, 
and  after  the  necessary  forms  of  doorkeepers  and 
tickets — by  Jove,  I  saw  the  *  spirit.' 

"  Here  let  me  stop,  dear  Maggie,  f^  I  write  to 
please  and  not  to  pain  you.  Will  you,  dear  darling, 
in  whom  I  so  truly  trust  that  my  very  honor  is  in 
youi  keeping — will  you  look  back  upon  those  old 
days  \^when  you  paraded  yourself  on  glass  tumblers 
at  a  dollar  a  head*)  and  upon  these ;  upon  yourself, 
dear  Maggie,  as  you  are  now  ?  Can  you  help  feeling 
that  you  are  in  every  respect  better  than  you  were 
then;  more  truthful,  more  innocent,  more  pure; 
better  friends  around  you,  and  a  wiser  and  purer  path 
ahead  ? 

"  When  people  speak  badly  of  me  and  I  for  your 
sake  bear  it,  ask  yourself  the  question :  *  Has  not 
Elisha  ^one  his  best  to  make  me  a  happier  and  a 
better  girl  ?  Has  he  ever  deceived  me  ?  Has  he  not 
always  said  to  me  openly,'  and  as  a  gentleman,  that 
some  day  I  should  be  his  wife ;  that  in  all^  all  he  is 
mine  ?' 

"Maggie,  I  have  had  but  one  thought,  how  to 


*  The  medium  was  thus  insulated,  to  see  if  electricity  had  aught 
to  do  with  the  phenomena. 


LOVK-LIPE  OP  DR.  KANE. 


239 


make  you  happier.  How  to  withdraw  you  from  a 
deception ;  from  a  course  of  sin  and  future  punishment, 
the  dark  shadow  of  which  hung  over  you  like  the 
wing  of  a  vampire.  Have  I  not,  dear  darling,  striven 
to  elevate  and  raise  you  to  my  own  standing  ?  Mag- 
gie, Maggie,  when  you  are  tempted  to  forget  old  times, 
and  false  friends  misrepresent  me,  go  and  read  this 
letter,  and  see  if  for  many  years  I  have  not  proved 
myself  a  true,  self-sacrificing  friend  and  lover. 

"  I  am  working  hard  here,  but  the  three  weeks  will 
soon  pass.  Even  while  at  my  student's  desk,  ponder- 
ing over  matters  ^oo  dull  for  your  bright  brain, 
thoughts,  sweet  thoughts,  distress  me. 

"  Write  soon.    Bye  bye. 

"  Here  goes  my  name, 

"  E.  K.  Kane. 


I 


"  P.  S.- — Write  at  once,  and  do  explain  your  strange 
letter.  It  looks  as  if  you  distrusted  me— or  else  as  if 
I  ought  to  distrust  you." 


\i 


.  .ra 


240 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


..•*    .  -v  • 


XX. 


"  The  course  of  true  love  "  still  ran  over  occasional 
roughnesses  that  caused  now  and  then  flashes  of  foam. 
Some  bit  of  gossip  repeated  to  Mrs.  Fox  draws  from 
her  a  severe  letter  to  the  Doctor,  which  he  thus 


acknowledged : 


*^>  h:' 


'.•L^r 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Mrs.  Fox] 

"My  Dear  Mrs.  Fox: — I  received,  with  deep 
mortification  and  surprise,  your  recent  letter.  I  do 
not  know  what  has  occurred  since  we  all  met  so 
happily  around  your  little  table;  but  I  have  too 
much  respect  for  your  wishes  not  to  follow  our 
request. 

"  As  to  dear  Maggie,  I  cannot  bear  the  thought  of 
having  unintentionally  injured  one  for  whom  I  have 
so  high  a  regard.  She  will  always  be  in  my  eyes 
entitled  to  that  respect  which  her  character  deserves ; 
and  it  will  be  my  privilege,  as  well  as  duty,  to  de- 
fend her  from  any  aspersion  which  may  be  cast  upon 
her. 

"  May  I  beg  you,  as  an  act  of  justice  to  myself,  to 
show  this  letter  to  your  daughters,  that  they  may 
learn  how  I  have  acceded  to  your  wishes?    Tell 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


241 


r  occasional 

hes  of  foam. 

draws  from 

ich  be  thus 


them,  but  especially  tell  Maggie,  that  this  matter  has 
caused  me  much  pain ;  but  that  they  may  still  regard 
me  as  a  friend,  taking  a  warm  and  brotherly  interest 
in  their  welfare. 

"  With  much  respect,  I  am,  Madam, 
"  Very  faithfully 

"  Your  friend  and  ob't  servant, 
^  "E.  K.  Kane. 

"Fhilaselphia,  June  24th,  1866. 

"  Mbs.  Mabgabbt  Fox, 
♦'22d  Street, 

"New  York."  , 


^  with  deep 

letter.    I  do 

all  met  so 

I  have  too 

follow  ^  our 

le  thought  of 
whom  I  have 

in  my  eyes 
iter  deserves; 

duty,  to  de- 
r  be  cast  upon 

to  myself,  to 
hat  they  may 
wishes?    Tell 


If  the  phrase  "  brotherly  interest "  provoke  a  smile 
from  the  reader,  it  often  did  not  less  from  the  Doctor 
himself,  when  he  glanced  over  his  missives,  or  was 
reminded  of  the  terms  he  had  used.  But  it  was 
hardly  misapplied,  for,  as  three  years  before,  much 
of  patenial  tenderness  had  been  blended  with  his 
love  for  the  young  girl  he  wished  to  educate,  there 
was  now  much  of  the  brotherly  feeling  in  the  attach- 
ment that  governed  his  actions.  The  young  lady 
seems  to  have  had  a  partiality  for  this  fraternal  bond ; 
for  her  letters  have  more  or  less  the  tone  of  a  loving 
sister,  while  the  Doctor  occasionally  evinces  a  pre- 
ference for  that  mode  of  address, — as  follows : 

11 


l> 


242 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


[Dr.  Kane  to  MtSB  Fox.] 

"  Dear  Sister  Maggie  : — Pity  me  I  I'm  truly 
worn  out  with  hard  work,  and  have  lost  quite  a  large 
sum  of  money.  I  long  for  a  holiday  where  I  can 
cease  to  play  great  man,  and  play  the  fool  instead. 

"  Keep  my  money  loss  a  secret  except  to  your 
mother.  These  are  things  better  never  spoken  of; 
but  I  wish  I  had  the  filthy  lucre  cut  up  into  silk 
dresses,  or  even  swallowed  in  sugar-plums ;  anything 
better  than  being  cheated.  Tell  your  mother  that  it 
is  worse  than  gaslights  and  washbosh. 

"  Nearly  all  my  private  affairs,  somehow  or  other, 
find  their  way  to  your  ears.  I  trust  you  a  great  deal 
more  than  I  ought  to ;  but  I  never  speak  of  the 
affairs  of  others,  for  those  do  not  belong  to  me. 

"  I  cannot  come  until  Tuesday,  and  then  not  until 
ten  o'clock.  I  start  again  at  six  in  the  morning ;  so 
that  our  happy  moments  will  be  few,  and  purchased 
on  my  part  by  a  ride  of  two  hundred  miles.  Do 
keep  yourself  disengaged ;  for  no  spirits,  terrestrial, 
heavenly,  or  infernal,  must  come  between  you  and 
your  friend. 

"  By  this  time  I  had  expected  to  have  turned  your 
little  bedchamber  into  a  flower-garden ;  but  I  am  so 
very,  very  busy — no  matter;  there's  an  end  to  all 
labor,  and  we  will  both  enjoy  more  the  rest  when  it 
comes. 

"Good-bye,  dear  Maggie;    there  is  not  a  single 


LOVE-LIFE  OF   DR.    KANE. 


243 


I'm  truly 
uite  a  large 
jhcre  I  can 
L  instead. 
3pt  to  your 

spoken  of; 
ap  into  silk 
is;  anything 
xotiier  that  it 

low  or  other, 
1  a  great  deal 
speak  of  the 
r  to  me. 
then  not  until 
>  morning ;  so 
^nd  purchased 
;d  miles.    Do 
its,  terrestrial, 
veen  you  and 

re  turned  your 
i;  but  I  am  so 
an  end  to  all 
he  rest  when  it 

a  not  a  single 


naughty  word,  and  what  is  better,  not  a  single  naughty- 
thought  in  all  this  letter.     Think  often  of  me,  and 
expect  me  on  Tuesday  night. 
"  Bye  bye. 

The  "  rest "  spoken  of,  must  have  been  the  comple- 
tion of  the  Doctor's  book,  which  he  was  working 
hard  to  finish  and  get  through  the  press.  Its  success 
would  give  him  the  independence  he  craved. 

Miss  Maggie  was  in  the  habit  of  stigmatizing  as 
'  na^ighty  "  every  species  of  teazing  reproof  or  vex- 
mg  complaint  from  her  friend ;  and  he  often  playfully 
used  the  word  as  she  meant  it. 

Here  is  her  reply.     The  flowers  came  later. 

[Miss  Fox  to  Dr.  Kane.] 

'  ■"     •  ■•■       -     \ 

"  My  Dearest  : — ^Your  letter  reached  me  this 
morning.  Then  you  are  doomed  to  pass  another  day 
in  Philadelphia.  It  is  now  five  days  since  you  left, 
and  it  seems  a  whole  year  to  me.  Oh,  my  lover  and 
friend,  hasten !  My  hours  grow  irksome  when  you 
stay  so  long  I 

**  The  roses  have  not  yet  arrived.  I  shall  look  for 
them  to-morrow. 

"  The  cover  is  beautiful,  and  the  things  are  as  you 
left  them,  save  your  portrait.  I  have  placed  it  over 
my  bed,  that  I  might  look  upon  it  until  I  Ml  asleep. 


1 


ii 


I1 


244 


LOVE-LIFE   OF   DR.   KANE. 


My  parlor  is  pleasant ;  still,  tl .  ^amps  burn  dimly 
when  you  are  not  here. 

"  The  evenings  are  growing  cold,  and  I  have  writ- 
ten this  letter  in  my  thin  wrapper ;  but  I  can  never 
take  coid  in  doing  anything  for  you — my  dearest 
friend. 

"  To-morrow  you  will  be  here  !  How  happy  the 
thought  of  seeing  you  makes  me  1  Oh,  my  star !  I 
live  but  to  love  you  I 

"You  frightened  me,  my  love.  I  hope  you  are 
better.  If  not,  send  for  me,  and  I  will  come  to 
you  ! 

"  And  now,  my  star  I  my  saint  I  my  only  soul  I 

"Farewell. 
"  Maggie. 

"Midnight. 
B.  22d  St." 


Miss  Margaret  sent  to  her  lover-friend  a  work  of  Sir 
Robert  Owen,  sent  to  her  by  a  friend  from  England, 
and  never  republished  in  this  country.  The  book  had 
reached  Crookville  while  Margaret  was  at  school,  and 
she  was  permitted  to  read  it;  a  permission  not 
granted  in  the  case  of  the  Tribune,  or  any  spiritualist 
publication. 

Maggie  was  in  the  habit  of  playfully  calling  Dr. 
Kane's  family  "  the  royal  family  ;"  hence  his  allusion. 


LOVE-LIFK  OF   DR.    KANE. 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 


245 


^^Ante-script.     , 
"  P.S. — £Jn  Avance. 

"  Here  is  an  old  times  letter.  I'm  sure  you  hardly 
deserve  one.    Do  write  at  once. 

"Dear  Maggie:— The  Royal  Family  keep  me 
in  our  quiet  city  to  attend  a  ball ;  and  on  Friday  I 
have  to  talk  science  and  stupidity  to  a  society  of 
learned  philosophers.  Pity  me,  for  truly  I  had 
rather  be  with  you,  resting  after  my  hard  work  like 
a  boy  in  his  holiday  time.  Even  if  you  were  as  cross 
as  you  are  kind,  it  would  be  a  pleasure  to  be  shut 
out  from  the  big  world,  gazing  at  your  dark  eyes  and 
pouting  lips.  How  much  more  a  pleasure  is  it  to  do 
more  than  gaze  I 

"  On  Saturdav  1  shall  be  in  New  York ;  or  if  not 
Saturday — Monday.  I  shall  bring  with  me  the  pic- 
ture [the  portrait  of  Judge  Kane]  which  you  de- 
sire ;  but  do,  dear  Maggie,  be  careful  of  it.  1  have 
every  confidence  in  you,  but  none  in  your  discretion. 
I  know  that  you  respect  me  none  the  less  because  I 
guard  my  truthfulness.  I  am  not  as  good  as  I  ought 
to  be ;  but  next  to  guarding  and  loving  you,  I  most 
regard  my  own  word.  Don't  be  angry  with  dear 
Elish'  for  telling  you  this.  I  respect  your  prtdej  and 
want  this  uncharitable  world  to  respect  both  it  and 
you.  . 

"Bye  bye." 


I 


\  \ 


: 


246 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANK. 


It  will  be  seen  that  he  was  hardly  yet  prepared  to 
meet  the  censure  of  his  friends  for  having  again 
plighted  his  faith  to  one  to  whom  the  odium  of  "the 
spirit-rappings"  still  clung,  notwithstanding  that  her 
abhorrence  of  the  association  was  now  as  deep  as  his 
own.  He  once  observed  to  a  friend,  that  no  poverty 
or  obscurity  could  have  stood  for  a  moment  in  the 
way  of  his  marriage  with  Miss  Fox.  But  the  abomi- 
nable rappings!  how  could  he  link  his  name  with 
them  I 


The  subjoined  letter,  like  many  others,  has  no 
date. 

"  My  Own  Dear  Pet  Lamb — When  I  think  over 
our  last  happy  evening,  I  fear  that  it  may  lessen  me 
in  your  respect.  I  hasten,  therefore,  of  my  own 
accord,  to  ask  you  to  forgive  me.  Indeed,  dear  Mag- 
gie, I  was  carried  away  by  my  own  temper,  and  you 
must  not  let  its  force  make  you  think  that  I  under- 
value your  own  delicacy  and  ladylike  refinement. 
Now,  that  I  am  away  from  you,  I  would  give  worlds 
for  the  simple  pleasure  of  sitting  by  your  side,  listeu- 
ing  to  riddles,  and  telling  stories  of  ancient  days. 


LOVE-LIFE  OF   DR.    KANE. 


247 


*  ^  You  were,  and  always  shall  be,  my  own  dear 
little  Jfagjie.    There  now  I 

"  Write  to  me  if  I  shall  come  on  Thursday,  at  five 
o'clock,  I  will  do  exactly  as  you  desire,  and  would 
not  fbr  the  world,  in  order  to  please  myself  by  seeing 
you,  run  a  risk  of  making  trouble  or  regret.  Tho 
locket  I  will  bring  with  me. 

"  I've  something  very  curious  to  tell  you  *    *    *  , 


*'And  now,  dear  Maggie,  good-night.  Read  this 
letter  over  as  you  go  to  bed,  and  imagine  dear  Elish* 
patting  your  hands,  or  pressing  his  rough  beard  against 
your  glowing  cheeks.  Don't  think  of  me  as  the 
wicked  person  that  I  have  learned  to  be  since  I  camo 

to  this  uncharitable  land  of  Mrs.  E s  and  Doctor 

G s ;  but  as  dear  Lye,  the  friend  of  old  times, 

who  never  advised  you  in  all  his  life  to  do  wrong,  or 
did  wrong  himself,  if  he  could  help  it." 


Dr.  Kane  was  always  anxious  to  impress  on  his 
lady-love  the  importance  of  punctuality  and  careful 


248 


LOVE-LIFE  or  DR.   KANE. 


If 
i1 


!  •  il 


exactness  in  the  smallest  matter.  One  day  when  he 
called  and  found  her  absent,  Miss  Kate  informed  him 
she  had  promised  to  return  "  in  three  minutes."  The 
Doctor  took  out  his  watch,  and  finding  the  three 
minutes  extended  to  ten,  he  read  the  young  lady  a 
lecture.  He  would  sometimes  ask  her  if  such  or 
such  an  article  of  furniture  was  in  such  a  place  in 
another  room ;  and  when  a  random  answer  was 
given,  would  ascertain  if  it  were  so,  and  read  a  se- 
vere homiiy  if  it  were  not,  on  the  culpability  in- 
volved in  that  kind  of  carelessness. 

He  would  not  permit  her  even  to  witness  any  spi- 
ritual manifestation,  nor  to  remain  in  the  room  when 
the  subject  was  discussed.  One  evening,  when  Miss 
Kate  had  a  circle  sitting  in  the  parlor,  the  Doctor 
walked  with  Margaret  through  the  hall ;  and  as  they 
passed  the  open  door,  he  drew  her  head  aside, 
and  held  up  his  arm  as  if  to  shield  her  from 
the  sight.  "  You  shall  never  be  brought  into  con- 
tact with  such  things  again — my  child  " — he  would 
say. 

His  jealous  care  to  guard  her  from  the  knowledge 
of  all  that  could  contaminate,  was  at  all  times  re- 
markable. Once  in  a  sleigh-ride  on  the  Bloomingdale 
road,  rather  late  in  the  afternoon,  they  drove  near  a 
hotel  resorted  to  by  pleasure-parties.  There  was  a 
riotous  crowd  of  men  and  women  singing  a  drinking 
eong  at  the  door  and  on  the  long  piazza.  Without 
saying  a  word,  Dr.  Kane  rose  in  the  sleigh,  and 


LOVE-LIPE  OP  DR.   KANE. 


249 


threw  the  buffalo  skin  over  ]!ilar^aret's  head,  keeping 
it  there  till  they  had  passed  the  place.  He  could  not 
bear  that  she  should  look  upon  such  a  scene. 

11* 


,11 

■I  ■■ 


250 


LOVE-LIFE  or  DR.   KANE. 


XXL 

The  following  missive  from  Miss  Maggie  was  sent 
shortly  before  her  summer  trip  to  Canada : 


[Miss  Fox  to  f)r.  Kane.] 

"  I  have  just  received  an  invitation  to  dine  Thurs- 
day evening  with  some  eighteen  or  twenty  ladies  and 
gentlemen  at  one  of  those  Fifth  Avenue  mansions  that 
we  were  so  much  enamored  with  during  our  yesterday's 
drive.    I  shall  dress  in  the  pale  blue  silk ;  the  very 

color  of  your  friend  Mrs.  G 's  cap-strings ;  I  mean 

ribbons — excuse  me  I  I  shall  wear  blue  silk  to  please 
my  Elish',  for  I  know  he  has  a  passion  for  that  sweet 
color.  You  see  that  *poor  'Lish'  is  not  the  only 
one  who  honors  *  Miss  Margaret  Fox.' 

"  When  shall  we  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you 
and  your  handsome  brother  ?  Please  write  to  me  by 
return  of  mail,  and  let  me  know  that  you  are  well 
and  happy. 

'*  Yours  in  the  sincerity  of  love, 

"Margaret  Fv>x." 


ri'-'JSt 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


251 


One  evening,  when  Miss  Margaret  was  at  a  party 
at  the  Hon.  John  Cochrane's,  Dr.  Kane  called  to  say 
good-bye,  and  left  the  following : 


[Dr.  Ktne  to  Mlas  Fox.] 

"  Oh,  Maggie,  why  were  you  not  here  ?  I  have 
waited  two  weary  hours.    You  do  not  trust  me. 

"  I  have  telegraphed — so  that  I  must  leave ;  but  if 
you  love  me,  write  and  comfort  your  attached  friend, 
brother,  everything  I 

"  God  bless  you  I  " 


Perhaps  as  much  of  individual  character  may  be 
read  in  such  brief  missives  as  in  longer  epistles.  Dr. 
Kane  had  no  time  for  letter-writing.  His  biographer 
says,  "  The  unanswered  letters  which  crowded  around 
him  might  well  appal  an  abler  man." 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 


"Maggie,  I  am  in  town,  but  leave  to-morrow. 
Are  you  well  and  happy  ?    You  have  not  written  to 


me. 


»» 


111" 


n. 


252 


LOVE-LIFE  OF   DR.   KANE. 


On  another  occasion  a  similar  complaint  was  made. 
The  young  lady  had  gone  to  call  on  ^  friend,  and 
had  neglected  her  engagement  • 


i 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"  Dear  Maggie  : — I  have  waited  my  two  long 
hours,  and  I  leave  you  soiry  and  grieved  at  your  dis- 
trust. Where  there  is  no  <^onfidence  there  can  be  no 
friendship. 

"  Bye  bye." 


l!i- 


'Tm  tied  of  waiting. 

''Good-bye.     Will  you  ride?    I  will  bring  car- 
riage in  half  an  hour." 


"  Send  a  note  by  the  bearer. 
"  Will  you  be  in  and  disengaged  this  afternoon  ? 
If  so,  at  what  hour  ?  " 


^ 

i 

LOVK-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 

253 

was  made, 
friend,  and 


J  two  long 
at  your  dis- 
•e  can  be  no 

e  bye." 


1  bring  car- 


afternoon  ? 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Mrs.  Fox.] 

"  My  Dear  Maggie  : — The  gentleman  who  owns 
the  wonderful  stove — ^is  no  gentleman  at  all.  He  is 
an  old  maid.  He  did  me  the  honor  to  say  that  his 
stove  was  the  only  one  in  the  coimtry,  and  that  he 
would  part  with  it  neither  for  love  nor  money.  In 
vain  I  urged  all  my  eloquence;  in  vain  said  that 
bright  eyes  would  glow  over  its  mysterious  flames, 
and  sweet  lips  close  like  kisses  over  its  delectable 
dishes.  The  wretch  was  inexorable.  Finally  I  told 
him  that  I  wanted  it  for  my  sliier ;  whereupon,  to 
the  credit  of  human  nature,  he  relented,  and  gave  me 
the  whole  curiosity  shop  at  cost.  So  you  see  that  if 
I  did  not  consider  you  as  my  sister,  we  would  have 
had  no  stove.  May  we  have  many  merry  suppers 
over  it,  and  many  laughs  at  its  history  I 

"  By  the  blessing  of  railroad  cars,  I  will  return 
from  Virginia  on  Saturday,  and  if  things  suit  in 
Twenty-second  street,  take  supper  with  you  on  Mon- 
day. Could  I  come  round  in  the  afternoon?  Do 
write  me  a  letter  saying  if  convenient.  Of  course  I 
expect  to  cook  my  own  supper  and  yours. 

"  Many  kind  wishes  to  you,  dear  Maggie,  and  to 
your  family.  Tell  Katie  to  drink  no  champagne,  and 
do  you  follow  the  same  advice.  It  makes  your  nose 
red,  and  is  a  bad  custom  for  young  ladies,  unless  in 
the  company  of  medical  men  or  grave  preachers. 
With  my  respects  to  Mrs.  Fox,  believe  me 

"Your  Friend." 


u  ■ 


254 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


The  stove  described  was  to  be  used  with  an  alcohol 
lamp,  for  cooking  purposes. 


!|S' 

1 

W ', 

■H 

1 

,  '^M 

! 

I- 

'  <S9H 

Mrs.  Fox  and  Margaret  fixed  a  day  in  August  for 
their  departure  for  Canada,  on  a  visit  to  relatives. 
Dr.  Kane  gave  the  young  lady  many  cautions.  "  You 
must  remember,"  he  said,  "  that  you  are  mine  ;  you 
must  hold  yourself  sacred,  as  my  wife  should  be ; 
there  must  be  no  flirting ;  you  must  receive  no  atten- 
tions from  gentlemen." 

"  Shall  I  then  disclose  our  engagement  ?  "  was  her 
laughing  question.  "Yes — if  brought  to  it,"  was 
his  reply. 

Margaret  wrote  from  Bxxjhester : 


[Miai  Fox  to  Dr.  Kane.] 

"  My  Dearest  Ly : — ^We  left  New  York  Thursday 
morning  at  half-past  five,  and  went  as  far  as  Syra- 
cuse, where  the  cars  halted  for  a  few  minutes.  Mother 
got  out  in  the  mean  time  to  attend  to  her  baggage, 
and  before  she  could  possibly  get  back,  the  cars  were 
off,  and  our  dear  mother  was  left  behind.  Three 
more  distracted  girls  than  Katie,  Emma,  and  I,  were 
never  known;   perfectly  unacquainted  with  travel- 


J:i 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.  KANE. 


255 


an  alcohol 


August  for 
to  relatives, 
ions.  "You 
)  mine ;  you 

should  be; 
live  no  atten- 

;?"  was  her 
to  it,"  was 


ling,  and  then  we  were  destitute  of  one  penny  to  pay 
our  passage.  What  to  do,  we  did  not  know.  The 
conductor  and  passengers  were  very  kind,  and  did  all 
in  their  power  to  comfort  us. 

"  As  soon  as  we  arrived  at  Rochester,  we  went  to 
a  very  fine  hotel  near  the  dep6t.  They  told  us  that 
there  was  another  train  at  half-past  seven.  We  com- 
posed ourselves  as  much  as  possible,  ancj  were  all  at 
the  depot  at  seven  precisely.  The  cars  arrived  punc- 
tually at  the  hour  mentioned;  but  our  mother  was 
not  there.  We  went  back  perfectly  crazy.  We 
waited  anxiously  for  the  next  train,  which  was 
expected  at  half-past  nine ;  but  mother  did  not  come 
until  the  next  day.  You  can  imagine  how  perfectly 
happy  we  were  when  she  came,  and  how  careful  we 
were  not  to  let  her  get  off  the  cars  again  without  us. 
We  will  go  from  here  to  *  *  ♦  " 


II! 


»rk  Thursday 
far  as  Syra- 
ites.  Mother 
her  baggage, 
the  cars  were 
lind.  Three 
and  I,  were 
with  travel- 


The  next  letter  of  Dr.  Kane  speaks  for  itself.  It 
may  have  been  written  before  the  receipt  of  the 
above. 

[Dr.  Xane  to  MiM  Fox.] 

"Written  Monday,  Aug.  24th,  ia  th'rd  story  front 
room,  22d  street.    The  house  dark  and  solitary. 


\,v 


^iFW^'^,  '  -n^. 


266 


LOVE-LIFE  or  DR.   KANE. 


"  I  do  not  know  whether  you  will  ever  receive  this 

letter ;  for  Mary*  has  to  get  the  address  from , 

and  I  trust  to  her  to  direct  it  for  me. 

"  Why,  you  funny  little  Tutie,  did  you  not  send 
me  word  where  you  were  about  to  rest  your  wander- 
ing footsteps?  Your  letter  was  a  charming  one,  but 
that  it  came  too  lato  for  a  Newark  answer,  and  you 
gave  mf  no  rxf  ans  of  replying  anywhere  else. 

"  Gi\  .  *y  St  regards  to  your  mother  and  Kate. 
Say  that  x  iniss  *hMD.  very  much,  and  that  during  my 
New  York  visits,  the  wretched  hotels,  with  their 
crowds  of  company,  form  a  poor  substitute  for  the 
quiet  rest  of  their  hospitable  homestead.  Most  of  all 
do  I  miss  you ;  the  third  story  room  seems  desolate 
without  you.  Always  I  think  of  you  with  brotherly 
affection — always  with  respect. 

"  Tommy  is  a  spoiled  child  ;  if  he  is  killed,  it  will 
be  with  kindness.  Mary  has  carte  blanche  at  the 
butcher's,  and  he  eats  of  the  fat  of  the  land.  Even 
now  I  hear  him  barking — ^I  suppose  at  my  picture ; 
and  although  he  is  as  fat  and  as  amiable  as  ever,  I 
think  that  he  misses  you.  Strange  to  say,  he  takes 
quite  kindly  to  me,  and  licks  my  hand  as  if  we  ought 
to  be  good  friends,  because  we  had  the  same  mistress. 
If  he  could  speak,  he  would  say, — *  You  think  your- 
self a  great  man,  but  she  loves  me  more  than  she 
loves  you,  and  she  never  beats  me  or  pulls  my  nose.' 

*  The  servant 


ij 


« 


receive  this 
from , 

>u  not  send 
our  wander- 
ing one,  but 
er,  and  you 
else. 

r  and  Kate. 
tt  during  my 
1,  witli  their 
itute  for  the 
Most  of  all 
ems  desolate 
ith  brotherly 

killed,  it  will 

inche  at  the 

land.    Even 

my  picture ; 

ble  as  ever,  I 

say,  he  takes 

3  if  we  ought 

jame  mistress. 

u  think  your- 

lore  than  she 

ulls  my  nose.' 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


267 


"  Mary  is  well.     She  tells  me  that  Mrs.  was 

here  yesterday  and  to-day,  with  her  assiduous  and 

venerable  friend  from  'Chicago.     ,  too,  is  well. 

Mrs.  "W" I  have  not  seen,  but  will  call  upon  soon. 

"  Much  as  I  miss  you,  I  would  not  advise  your 
return  before  you  can  possibly  help  it.  Certainly, 
not  before  the  third  or  fourth  of  September.  Your 
health,  and  your  mother's  and  sister's,  is  of  more 
importance  than  Kate's  spiritual  pow-wow  in  this  hot 
city.  I  myself  am  very  sick,  and  go  this  afternoon 
to  BraUkboro\  Vermont,  to  which  address  send  m  ^  a 
letter  at  once,  saying  when  you  will  be  back  ;  wr.a> 
is  your  mother's  health,  and  above  all,  dear  Maggie, 
whether  I  can  be  of  any  use  to  you.  Say  this  to 
your  mother ;  she  will  understand  me ;  and  be 
assured  that  I  make  the  offer  in  the  sinceri'  of  a 
long-tried  friendship. 

"  This  may  seem  to  you  a  cold  letter ;  but  remem- 
ber that  strange  eyes  may  see  it,  for  it  may  never  reach 
you.  The  best  answer  to  all  your  fears  is  to  show 
you  the  caution  with  which  I  guard  you  and  your 
name.  Should  a  passing  thought  of  sorrow  come  to 
you  on  my  account,  I  would  never  forgive  myself. 
Except  for  words  of  praise,  my  tongue  shall  be  as  a 
sealed  book. 

"  But  just  to  think  of  it  I  You  will  see  me  again 
before  I  cross  the  water,  for  I  cannot  leave  until  the 
tenth ;  and  as  soon  as  your  letter  reaches  me,  will 
hasten  to  New  York.     There  I  will  meet  you  as  a 


258 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


sister,  and  part  from  you  as  from  one  who  has  the 
highest  possible  claim  to  my  brotherly  affection  and 
honorable  regard. 

"  There,  *  Toots.*  " 


The  following,  written  by  moonlight  in  Canado, 
must  have  been  received  with  transport  by  the  absent 
lover. 


!'■■ 

[Ml88  Fox  to  Dr.  Kane.] 

''  It  is  late,  my  beloved,  and  I  have  carefully  stolen 
from  my  bed,  that  I  might  write  to  you  undisturbed 
even  by  the  breathings  of  others.  It  is  after  mid- 
night, and  the  sweet  moon  is  the  only  witness  to  my 
devotion. 

"  For  four  days  I  have  done  nought  but  weep. 
How  has  our  separation  affected  you  ?  I  am  very 
gloomy.  "Without  you  all  is  darkness,  and  every 
place  seems  a  grave.  You  ask  if  I  mix  in  company  ? 
No,  no  I  I  join  no  merry  scenes.  Lish\  I  have  not 
laughed  since  we  parted.  By  the  time  we  meet  again 
I  fear  I  shall  quits  have  forgotten  to  laugh ;  and  then 
you  will  clothe  me  in  the  habiliments  of  a  nun,  and 
send  me  to  a  convent  to  count  my  rosary. 


LOVE-LIFK  OF  DR.    KANE. 


259 


I 


"  On  the  wings  of  angels  I  send  you  ten  thousand 
kisses. 
"  Bye  bye. 

"  Maggie. 
"  Morning  is  nearly  upon  me." 


[Miss  Fox  to  Dr.  Kane.] 

"Mblvtllb,  Canada  West,  Sept.  Ist,  1856. 

**I  have  purposely  delayed  writing  to  you,  my 
dearest,  in  the  hope  that  I  should  have  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  you  once  more  before  your  departure  for 
England.  But  I  fear  it  will  be  impossible,  as  we  shall 
not  be  able  to  reach  Now  York  before  the  middle  or 
last  of  next  month.  It  is  only  three  weeks  since  we 
left  New  York,  yet  it  seems  much  longer. 

"  Have  you  visited  our  home  in  Twenty-second 
street  ?  I  suppose  if  you  have  you  found  it  solitary 
enough. 

"  We  think  of  leaving  the  Canadian  shores  about 
the  17th  of  September. 

"  It  is  growing  late,  and  I  have  just  time  to  return 
my  grateful  thanks  for  the  kind  and  brotherly  interest 
that  you  havef  always  manifested  for  me.  Wishing 
you  a  happy  journey  and  a  safe  return, 

"  Believe  me,  with  much  love, 

"  Yours  devotedly, 

"Margaret  Fox. 


•«( 


260 


LOVE-LIFK  OF  DR.   KANE. 


"  P.  S. — I  have  often  dreamt  of  you  aince  I  left, 
and  have  twice  dreamt  that  you  were  very,  very  ill ; 
and  I  waked  each  time  weeping  bitterly.  But  fortu- 
nately my  dreams  always  prove  false,  unless  they  are 
of  an  agreeable  character. 

"  I  am  no  great  believer  in  dreams,  whether  plea- 
sant or  unpleasant 

"  Maggie." 


[Mlsa  Fox  to  Dr.  Kane.] 

"  I  hope,  my  dearest  Ly,  that  you  are  much  better 
than  when  I  left  you.  I  suppose  in  a  few  days  you 
will  be  on  your  way  to  England.  How  long  will  you 
remain  in  England?  We  would  have  visited  my 
brother  before  going  to  Canada,  had  it  not  been  for 
mother's  being  left. 

"  I  should  love  much,  my  dear  brother,  to  have  you 
write  to  me,  but  fear  that  your  letters  may  not  reach 
us,  as  we  will  be  travelling  nearly  all  the  time.  I 
wrote  from  Rochester,  and  requested  Mr.  Smith  to 
keep  all  letters  safely  that  came  dircQted  either  for  my 
mother,  Kate,  or  myself,  until  we  visited  Arcadia, 
which  would  be  within  one  month.  Therefore,  if  you 
have  written  to  me,  the  letter  will  be  kept  perfectly 
safe  until  I  receive  it. 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DK.   KANE. 


261 


"  The  weather  is  very  cool  and  pleasant ;  rather  too 
cool.  I  will  direct  this  letter  to  your  handsome  bro- 
ther Patterson.  '  It's  very  artistic,  Mrs.  Fox.'  IIo 
must  have  thought  me  exceedingly  rude ;  but  it  was 
perfectly  impossible  for  me  to  suppress  my  laughter. 

"  I  remember  your  promise  while  with  Mr. . 

You  know  that  my  opinion  of  that  gentleman  is  rather 
poor.  Perhaps  if  I  knew  more  of  his  good  qualities  I 
should  respect  him  more. 

"  Mother  and  Kate  send  their  love  to  you.  Think 
of  me,  and  believe  me  ever 

"  Devotedly  yours, 

"Margaret  Y^x. 

"  P.  S. — I  wish  that  you  would  please  go  to  our 
house,  and  request  Mary  (the  servant  girl)  to  put  little 
Tommie  in  a  room  above,  and  keep  my  door  locked 

all  the  time,  so  that cannot  read  my  letters.    I 

wish  that  you  would  take  my  key  and  keep  it  until 
you  go  to  England.    Please  do  this ;   for  there  are 

many  letters  that  I  would  not  for  worlds should 

read." 


m 


The  key  was  that  of  the  room  containing  the  box 
which  held  11  the  letters  of  Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox. 
The  key  of  tho  box  itself  had  been  consigned  to  the 


262 


LOVE-LIFK  OP  DR.  KANE. 


Doctor's  charge  wbon  Margaret  went  to  Canada.  He 
could  have  taken  away  all  his  letters  had  he  chosen  to 
do  so.  This  fact  may  serve  to  show  the  perfect  con- 
fidence subsisting  between  the  lovers.  Dr.  Kane  often 
seemed  to  think  of  the  possibility  of  his  love-letters 
being  published.  He  would  say — ^intimating  that 
something  might  happen  at  a  future  time  to  render  a 
publication  necessary — "  Maggie,  never  fear,  you  hold 
a  fortune  in  my  letters."  He  at  all  times  expressed  a 
wish  that  they  should  be  ever  in  her  keeping ;  and 
sometimes  reproved  her  for  not  being  careful  enough 
of  them. 


LOVE-LIPE  OP  DR.  KANE. 


268 


mada.    He 
[Q  chosen  to 
perfect  con- 
Kane  often 
1  love-letters 
nating  that 
J  to  render  a 
jar,  you  hold 
[  expressed  a 
eeping;  and 
reful  enough 


xxn. 

A  letter  of  Dr.  Kane's  bids  his  friend  direct  to 
Stockbridge,  Massachusetts.    As  the  time  drew  near 
when  he  expected  her,  he  requested  that  a  note  might 
be  sent  to  him  at  the  Brevoort  House,  New  York, 
where  he  was  ill,  as  soon  as  the  party  arrived  from 
Canada.     Almost  every  hour  of  the  day  preceding 
their  return,  he  rang  the  bell  of  the  house  in  Twenty- 
second  street,  and  he  was  with  them  five  minutes 
after  they  came,   with  a  delighted  welcome.     He 
breakfasted  with  them  the  next  morning,  and  had  a 
long  conversation  upon  the  future.    This  was  some 
two  weeks  before  the  time  fixed  for  the  Doctor's 
departure  for  England,  whence  he  expected  to  be 
back  in  the  spring.    At  this  time  Dr.  Kane  appeared 
willing  to  defy  the  severest  censures  of  the  class  of 
persons  aptly  designated  as  "  snobs."    He  seemed  to 
glory  in  his  devotion  to  the  object  of  bis  love.     He 
bad  the  volumes  of  his  work  bound  to  order  for  her, 
and  almost  every   day  brought  her  some  token  of 
regard.     He  told  her  of  a  diamond  bracelet  he  had 
ordered  at  Tiffany's,  and  added,  smiling,  as  they  drove 
there  for  it — "  They  will  all  know  now,  Maggie,  that 
I  want  it  for  my  betrothed." 


A 


m' 


Iff 


264 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


On  first  entering  her  own  little  parlor  in  the  house, 
Margaret  saw  the  following  billet,  in  the  Doctor's 
hand-writing,  pinned  up  so  as  to  meet  her  eye : 

"  God  bless  you,  dear  Maggie  I  I  have  tried  to  do 
all  that  I  could  during  your  absence,  to  show  my  bro- 
therly regard.  Have  trust  in  me  always.  Write 
under  cover  to  my  brother  as  soon  as  you  arrive. 
Remember  me  to  your  mother  and  Kate." 


f 


■"^^Pfvlaj 


Dr.  Kane  was  always  exceedingly  particular  in 
keeping  appointments,  and  in  apologies  whenever  pre- 
vented from  doing  so ;  also  in  consulting  the  conve- 
nience of  others  in  making  them.  These  little  notes 
illustrate  this  trait. 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Mm.  Fox.] 

"  My  Dear  Madam  : — I  am  suffering  so  much  that 
I  cannot  leave  my  bed ;  if,  therefore,  I  should  be  un- 
able to  pay  my  respects  to-day,  I  pray  you  to  accept 
my  apologies. 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"E.  K.  Kane." 


LOVE-LIFE   OF   DR.   KANE. 


265 


[Dr.  Kano  to  Mrs.  Fox.] 

"My  Dear  Madam:— The  train  does  not  leave 

as  I  expected.     Ask    Maggie  if   she    can   see    me 

before  I  leave  town,  and  send  me  word  when,  by  the 

bearer. 

"  Truly  your  friend, 

'*E.  K.Kane. 

"  I  must  leave  to-morrow  morning  early." 


V 


• 


,v         .         [Dr.  Kane  to  MIbs  Fox] 

"  Dear  Maggie  : — I  have  but  a  minute  to  show, 
by  an  accidental  chance,  that  I  still  remember  you. 
Be  all  that  1  would  wish  you.  Kemember  my  advice, 
and  you  will  be  always  with  me  that  which  you  have 
been  and  are. 
"  God  bless  you,  my  dear,  darling  little  '  spirit  I ' 
"  Good-bye. 

"  E.  K.  Kane." 


'li 


At  one  of  their  partings  about  this  time,  Maggie 
took  her  locket,  containing  Willie's  hair,  ard  attached 
it  to  the  Doctor's  guard-chain,  to  be  worn  during  his 
absence  abroad.  She  little  thought  that,  like  the  ring 
noticed,  it  would  be  kept  from  her  after  his  death. 

12 


iii 


I*,s    , 


266 


LOVE-LIFE   OF  DK.    KANE. 


MiiLy  verses  were  addressed  by  Doctor  Kane  xo  Im 
betrothed,  which  prove  him  a  far  better  aavjgator 
than  poet. 

"  Purely  though  I  love  her,  and  worship  none  above  her, 
Madly  at:  I  adore  her,  and  Badly  as  1  bore  her," 

(to  use  his  own  words)  the  reader  would  scarcely 
pardon  the  lack  of  poetic  merit  for  the  ardent  expres- 
sion of  his  unbounded  love.  One  of  his  metrical 
effusions  was  a  prayer  which  he  directed  Maggie  to 
"  learn  by  heart,  and  say  it  when  you  go  to  bed  at 
night."  In  this  curious  production  devotional  aspira- 
tion has  hardly  the  preeminence  over  the  worship  he 
craved  for  himself  from  the  chosen  of  his  heart.  He 
wished  to  have  all  her  thoughts  at  all  times.  The 
"  prayer,"  like  numerous  poems  indited  by  the  lover, 
must  be  consigned  to  oblivion. 


A  very  short  time  before  Dr.  Kane  sailed,  he  took 
Margaret  to  the  opera  at  Niblo's.  Several  ladies 
and  gentlemen  were  in  the  private  box  opposite. 
The  Doctor  asked  Maggie  to  look  and  tell  him  wbat 
she  thought  of  them — if  they  were  really  well-bred 
persons.   When  she  answered    in    the  negative   he 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


267 


w% 


laughed  heartily,  and  said  be  thought  her  opinion 
correct. 

One  day  he  took  from  a  basket  of  fruit  on  Mrs. 
Fox's  table  some  bunches  of  grapes,  wove  them  into 
a  go^land,  and  placed  it  on  Margaret's  head,  bidding 
her  remember  thai  she  was  his  wife — solemnly  pledged 
in  the  sight  of  Heaven — and  ere  long  to  be  such  in 
the  face  of  the  world.  This  acknowledgment  had 
been  once  before  made,  when  the  parties  were 
alone. 

One  evening  the  Doctor  came  to  Twenty-second 
street,  weary  and  low-spirited,  and  was  toid  that 
Margaret  was  not  at  home  '*  Is  it  possible  !  "  he 
cried — "  when  she  knew  I  was  coming — and  only  a 
day  or  two  before  I  must  leave  her,  too  I  "  He  took 
a  seat  with  a  look  of  deep  disappointment,  when  a 
closet  door  flew  open,  and  out  sprang  the  young  lady, 
blooming  and  laughing,  very  coquettishly  dressed, 
and  more  beautiful  than  he  had  ever  seen  her.  Mat- 
ters were  then  arranged  for  a  drive  next  morning  to 
have  her  ambrotype  taken. 

He  wrote  out  the  description  as  follows : 

"  Ambrotype—Large  plate — Figure  erect  —  com- 
plete Profile — Eyelids  drooping — Countenance  pen- 
dive  and  looking  down." 


^V  t 


U. 


In  the  morning  came  this  note,  sent  either  by  Mor- 


11 

i! 


I. 


268 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


ton  or  Mr.  Grinnell,  who  had  been  the  bearer  of  many 
missives : 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Miss  Fox.] 

"Dear  Tutie: — I  fear  that  the  weather  is  too 
cloudy.  I  will  be  at  No.  50  at  half-past  eleven  o'clock, 
when,  if  it  clears  up,  you  can  drive  down  and  meet 
your  mother  at  'the  rooms.'  Mention  this  to  her, 
with  my  best  respects,  and  send  me  word  if  the  plan 
suits  you." 


Immediately  afterwards  the  following : 

[Ur.  KaLO  to  Miss  Pox.] 

"  Dearest  Pet  : — Do  dress  at  once,  and  have  the 
ambrotype  taken.  I  will  come  up  in  less  than  an 
hour  and  sec  to  your  costume.  Don't  be  afraid  of 
your  njck  and  shoulders.  I  want  you  to  look  like  a 
Circe,  for  you  have  already  changed  me  into  a  wild 
Boar„  ,     -  :[ 

.:  ".,■--:  .  .-         :'   '    .      "Yale." 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DK.   KANE. 


269 


Shortly  before  his  departure,  Dr.  Kane  came  to 
tea,  and  spent  the  evening,  as  usual,  with  his  beloved. 

Reclining  on  the  sofa,  he  talked  despondingly  of 
what  might  happen  in  his  ar  3emce.  His  health  was 
precarious ;  he  might  be  ill ;  he  might  die.  "  If  I 
send  for  you,  my  own  Maggie,  will  you  come  to 
me  ?  "  he  asked.  "  Certainly  I  will,"  she  answered. 
"  I  fear  you  would  hesitate,"  he  murmured ;  "  and 
yet  you  know  you  are  my  own — my  wife !  You  re- 
member what  I  have  told  you  I  "  A  moment  after- 
wards he  added — "  Would  you  like  me  to  repeat 
what  I  have  said,  formally,  in  the  presence  of  your 
mother  ?  Such  a  declaration,  in  the  presence  of  wit- 
nesses, is  sufficient  to  constitute  a  legal  and  binding 
marriage ;  a  marriage  as  firm  as  if  the  ceremony  took 
place  before  a  magistrate.*  Attend  to  me,  Maggie ; 
listen ;  would  you  be  willing  now  to  enter  into  such 
a  bond  ?  " 

*  "  No  peculiar  ceremonies  are  requisite  by  the  common  law  to  the 
valid  celebration  of  the  marriage.     The  consent  of  the  parties  ia  all 
that  is  required ;  and  as  marriage  is  said  to  be  a  contract  jwre  gentium, 
that  consent  is  all  that  is  required  by  natural  or  pubhc  law." 
Kent's  Commentaries,  Vol.  II.,  page  53. 

"  It  is  very  clear  that  the  marriage  contract  is  valid  and  binding 
if  made  by  words  de  prcesenti,  though  it  be  not  followed  by  cohabita- 
tion." , 
M^Adam  v.  Walker,  1  Dow^s  Rep.  148. 
Jackson  v.  Winne,  7  Wendell,  47  and  50.     Note  (a)  and  cases 
there  cited. 
"The  consent  of  the  parties  may  be  declared  before  a  magistrate, 


t:    M 

!■  i 

I  ■  It 


i;  •    ,  I 


270 


LOVE-LIFE  OP   DR.    KANE. 


At  this  moment  Miss  Katharine  Fox  came  into  the 
room.  Dr.  Kane  desired  her  to  call  her  mother,  who 
came  up  stairs  to  the  parlor;  the  servant,  and  a  young 


a'i 


r 


or  simph/  before  witnesses,  or  subsequently  confessed  or  acknow- 
ledged." 

Kent's  Com.,  Vol.  IL,  p.  65. 

*'  If  the  contract  be  made  per  verba  de  presenti,  and  remains  with- 
out cohabitation  (or  if  made  per  verba  de  futuro,  and  be  followed  by 
consummation),  it  amounts  to  a  valid  marriage  in  the  absence  of  all 
civil  regulations  to  the  contrary,  and  to  which  the  parties  (being 
competent  as  to  age  &nd  consent)  cannot  dissolve,  and  is  equally 
binding  as  if  made  in  facie  ecclesiaj" 

11.  Kent's  Com.,  S^/i  i^d.,  j>p.  53  a/id  64. 

"  Marriage  is  a  civil  contract,  and  all  that  is  essential  to  its  valid- 
ity is  a  present  agreement  between  competent  parties,  to  take  each 
other  for  husband  and  wife ;  and  this  agreement  may,  like  any  other 
fact,  be  proved  either  by  direct  or  circumstantial  evidence." 

Clayton  and  Wife  v.  Wardell  et  ai.,  Executors,  d:c, ;  4  Cornst,  R,  230. 
New  York  Court  op  Appeals. 

"  Nothing  more  is  necessary  than  a  full,  free,  and  mutual  consent 
>M3tween  the  parties,  though  there  be  no  consummation."        ' 
Jackson  v.  Winne,  1  Wend.  4V. 

The  Revised  STATUTEr  of  New  York,  5th  Edition,  Vol.  III., 
page  229,  after  an  article  relating  to  the  solemnization  and  proof  of 
marriages,  says. 

*'  Nor  shall  the  provisions  of  this  article  be  construed  to  require 
the  parties  to  any  marriage,  or  any  minister  or  magistrate,  to  solem- 
nize the  same  in  the  manner  herein  prescribed;  but  all  lawful 
marriages  contracted  in  the  manner  heretofore  in  use  in  this  State 
shall  be  as  valid  as  if  this  article  had  not  been  passed." 

In  the  case  of  the  People  v.  Hayes,  tried  in  the  Court  of  General 
Sessions,  and  the  judgment  affirmed  in  the  Supreme  Court,  in  1863, 


■  'ffl.!'-  TIL  - 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


271 


)d  or  *cknow- 


lady  who  was  spending  the  evening  there,  being  also 
present.  Dr.  Kane  informed  them  he  had  sent  for 
them  to  witness  the  solemn  declaration  that  would 
follow.  Then,  standing  up,  and  holding  Margaret's 
hand,  while  his  left  arm  encircled  her  form,  he  said : 
"  Maggie  is  my  wife,  and  I  am  her  husband.  Wher- 
ever we  are,  she  is  mine,  and  I  am  hers.  Do  you  un- 
derstand and  consent  to  this,  Maggie  ?  "  Margaret 
answered  that  she  did. 

Dr.  Kane  then  explained  that  he  had  wished  to 
say  this  before  witnesses,  to  provide  against  anything 
that  might  happen  before  they  could  m^jot  again.  A 
very  near  relative  of  his  own,  he  said,  had  been  pri- 
vately married  a  long  time  before  it  was  in  any  man- 
ner made  public.  Again  he  assured  his  beloved  that 
the  ceremony  which  had  just  passed,  made  them  as 


mutual  consent 


the  Recorder  charged  the  jury  that  in  this  State  there  may  be  a 
valid  marriage,  though  not  formally  solemnized  before  a  clergyman, 
or  consent  declared  before  a  magistrate.  If  parties,  competent  to 
contract,  in  the  presence  of  witnesses,  agree  together  to  be  husband 
and  wife,  it  is  a  legal  marriage. 

The  Court  of  Appeals  held  that  the  Cbsence  of  the  contract,  as 
of  all  contracts,  is  the  consent  of  the  parties ;  and  its  validity  does 
not  depend  upon  any  form  of  celebration,  nor  the  fact  of  cohabitation. 
The  consent  of  parties,  without  any  peculiar  forms  or  ceremonies, 
is  all  that  is  required  to  its  valid  celebration. 

This  case  was  reported  in  25th  New  York  Reports,  page  390. 

(Reeve's  Domestic  Relations,  3d  Edition,  p.  196  and  note.  Starr  v. 
Peck,  1  Hill,  270;  Fenton  v.  Read,  4  Johns.  52  ;  Clayton  v.  Ward- 
well,  4  Comst.  230 ;  Bishop  on  Mar.  and  Div.  Chap.  V.) 


r;;    ^ 


•S 


272 


LOVE-LIFE   OP   DR.    KANE. 


indissolubly  one  as  if  performed  in  a  church.  "  It 
shall  be  made  public  in  May,"  he  added. 

The  day  previous  Dr.  Kane  had  taken  Margaret 
with  him  to  make  farewell  calls.  They  called  at 
General  Scott's,  Judge  Blunt's,  Mrs.  Wood's,  and 
other  places,  leaving  cards  of  adieu. 

The  brief  note  below  was  to  prepare  Mrs.  Fox  for 
an  evening  visit : 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Mrs.  Kane.] 

"  I  take  a  farewell  dinner  with  the  officers ;  after 
which,  if  acceptable  to  you,  I  will  pay  my  respects  to 
your  mother  and  yourself.  Will  seven  o'clock  find 
you  at  home  ?  " 


[Dr.  Kane  to  Mrs.  Kane.] 

"  Dear  Wife  : — May  I  meet  you  at  half-past  ten 
to-night  ?  I  have  a  capital  excuse  for  your  mother. 
Do  not  say  wo,  but  send  word  the  earliest  hour,  and 
I'll  be  with  you." 


■■|i 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


273 


xxni. 


+ 


During  the  last  evening,  Dr.  Kane  seemed  op- 
pressed by  gloomy  forebodings.  '*  Maggie,  what  if  1 
should  die  away  from  you  1" — he  exclaimed,  in  an- 
guish. "  Oh,  my  own  Maggie,  could  I  but  die  in 
your  arms,  I  would  ask  no  more  !"  Again :  "  I  can 
part  from  all  the  rest, — even  from  my  mother — with 
calmness: — it  is  parting  with  you,  Maggie,  that  kills 
me  I"  He  stayed  late.  Morton  came  for  him  just 
after  he  had  gone,  and  received  Maggie's  injunctions. 

"  Remember,  Morton — take  good  care  of  the  Doc- 
tor"— were  her  parting  words  to  him.  "  That  I  will) 
Miss  Maggie" — was  his  reply. 

On  one  occasion,  months  before.  Dr.  Kane  had  said 

to  Mrs.  W ;  "  I  fear  Maggie  does  not  love  me ; 

poor  child,  it  is  not  in  her  nature  I" — He  did  not  now 
doubt  her  love.  He  clasped  the  diamond  bracelet  on 
her  arm,  and  bade  her  wear  it  for  his  sake  who  loved 
her  with  his  whole  soul.  He  gave  her  several  enve- 
lopes lined  with  muslin,  which  he  had  directed  to  himself, 
that  her  letters  enclosed  therein  might  go  with  safety. 
One  of  these,  addressed  to  the  care  of  Bowman,  Grin- 
nell  &  Co.,  Liverpool,  he  maik^  "!  curiously  with  stars 
on  the  inside  corners.  This  private  murk,  not  under- 
stood by  any  of  his  family,  was  to  signify  Maggie's  wish 

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LOVE-LIFE   OF  DR.   KANE. 


for  bis  immediate  return.  Whenever  he  received  that 
envelope  he  would  set  out  instantly,  and  would  suffer 
no  business  to  detain  bim.  He  oftf  n  made  marks  in 
his  letters  to  signify  persons,  and  made  Maggie  do 
the  same.  Bearing  in  mind  the  possibility  of  bis  let- 
ters meeting  other  eyes,  he  mutilated  several,  tearing 
off  portions  he  did  not  wish  to  be  read.  He  at  one 
time  told  her  be  would  write  in  invisible  ink,  when 
the  letters  came  open  ;  but  this  was  never  done. 

The  morning  of  the  day  he  sailed,  October  11th, 
though  noted  as  the  10th  by  his  biographer,  he  came 
early  to  Twenty-second  street.  He  had  before  spoken 
of  having  made  his  will,  and  said  to  Mrs.  Fox  that  he 
had  left  a  legacy  "  to  that  dear  child."  He  said  the 
same  repeatedly  to  Margaret,  and  now  again  speaking 
of  his  will,  added,  "  and  you  are  well  remembered  in 
it."  Margaret  observed  that  the  making  of  a  will  "  was 
very  sad;"  but  the  Doctor,  placing  ber drooping  head 
upon  his  shoulder,  explained  that  it  was  but  a  needful 
precaution  on  tbe  eve  of  a  journey. 

The  legacy  he  referred  to  was  left  in  a  "secret 
trust"  to  one  of  his  brothers ;  the  name  of  Miss  Fox 
not  appearing  in  his  will.  He  had  an  excusable 
anxiety  not  to  vox  his  family,  while  he  wished  her 
who  had  sacrificed  for  him  her  means  of  living,  to  en- 
joy what  he  was  able  to  give  her.  This  legacy  was 
never  paid,  although  the  interest  on  it  was  paid  for 
some  time,  under  conditions  never  imposed  by  Dr. 
Kane.     The  offer  of  payment,  if  she  would  surrender 


LOVE-LIFE   OF   DR.    KANE. 


275 


fa  will ''was 


Dr.  Kane's  letters,  has  always  been  declined  by  his 
widow. 

On  this  last  morning,  Dr.  Kane  had  with  him  in  the 
carriage  the  portrait  of  his  beloved,  painted  by  Fag- 
nani,  which  hud  been  his  inseparable  companion  in 
his  Arctic  travels.  He  preferred  carrying  it  with  ^  im 
to  having  it  packed  in  a  trunk.  The  ambrotype  was 
finished,  and  had  been  left  at  Mrs.  Fox's.  It  was  to 
be  copied  in  England  by  a  celebrated  artist. 

The  adieux  were  made,  sad  and  tearful  on  both 
sides, — and  the  Doctor  drove  away  to  meet  other 
friends.  But  neither  friends,  nor  relatives,  nor  busi- 
ness, could  prevent  his  returning  to  take  another  fare- 
well just  before  the  steamer  sailed. 

The  final  parting  came.  Again  and  again  he 
clasped  in  his  arms  the  poor  girl  whose  love  for  him 
had  been  so  patient  and  enduring,  and  was  prized  by 
him  above  all  the  world  could  bestow.  With  tears 
and  sobs,  tearing  himself  away,  he  bade  her  stand  in 
the  door,  that  he  might  see  her  till  the  carriage 
bore  him  out  of  sight.  His  weeping  adieux  were  re- 
peated many  times  after  he  left  the  door ;  then  sud- 
denly recollecting  the  ambrotype,  he  returned  to  the 
house  for  it,  leaving  the  carriage  at  a  little  distance. 
Margaret  walked  with  him  back  to  the  carriage. 
Even  at  this  last  moment  he  was  tempted  to  give  up 
his  voyage.  "  It  is  for  you  to  decide,  Maggie !"  he 
cried.  ''  My  passage  is  taken  ;  but  that  is  nothing. 
Tell  me,  shall  I  go,  or  stay?"      This  was  repeated 


276 


LOVE-LIFE   OF   DR.    KANE. 


again  and  again,  as  it  had  been  for  days  before.  The 
DoctSi'  was  continually  in  the  habit  of  asking  her 
opinion,  in  this  manner,  upon  every  matter  of  import- 
ance to  him. 

But  Margaret  would  not  detain  him.  "' 

Little  did  either  think  they  would  never  meet  again 
in  this  world.  • 


The  following  note  came  from  England  from  the 
Doctor: 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Mrs.  Kane.] 

"  I  have  just  time  to  catch  the  steamer,  dear  Tutie, 
to  tell  you  of  my  safe  arrival,  and  to  beg  you  to  write 
should  you  need  anything.  Pardon  the  haste  of  this 
letter,  and  believe  me  always  as  of  old. 

"  I  send  you  a  ridiculous  paragraph  cut  trom  a 
Liverpool  paper."  ■ 


■t 


■i 


The  envelope  containing  the  last  liote  written  by  Dr. 
Kane  to  his  Maggie,  was  directed  in  Mr.  Grinnell's 
handwriting.     The  note  was  written  on  a  leaf  torn 


LOVE-LIFE  OF   DR.   KANE. 


•277 


out  of  his  memorandum-book.  The  Doctor  was  so 
feeble  as  to  be  unable  to  support  himself,  and  could 
only  write  a  few  words  with  difficulty.  They  were 
the  last  words  his  hand  ever  traced  to  any  human 
being.  His  biographer  says  his  latest  letter  was 
addressed  to  Dr.  S.  W.  Mitchell  of  Philadelphia,  and 
was  dated  November  15th — from  London.  This  was 
later,  and  was  written  on  shipboard. 

[Dr.  Kane  to  Mrs.  Kane.]  -  , 

"  Dear  Tutie  : — I  am  quite  sick,  and  have  gone 
to  Havana ;  on!y  one  week  from  New  York.  I  have 
received  no  letters  from  you ;  but  write  at  once  to  E. 
K.  Kane,  care  of  American  Consul,  Havana." 


I 

■■''    r 

I 


Margaret  wrote  in  reply  to  the  above : 


►  [Mrs.  Kane  to  Dr.  Kane.] 

"My  Dear  Elisha: — Your  welcome  little  note 
was  received  this  morning,  for  which  I  owe  you 
many  thanks.  I  have  heard  oi  you  often  through  the 
newspapers.  •        -  '' 

"  You  can  imagine  my  feelings  when  I  heard  that 


278 


LOVE-LIFE   OF   DR.    KANE. 


your  physicians  had  ordered  you  to  go  to  St.  Thomas ; 
I  only  hope  that  you  may  soon  recover. 

*'  I  would  give  worlds  to  see  you,  but  can  hardly 
expect  to  have  that  pleasure  till  May,  as  our  climate 
is  so  awful  for  invalids. 

"Mr.  F.  W.  Wilson  called  here  a  few  days  since, 
and  informed  us  that  you  had  sailed  in  the  Oriental 
for  the  West  Indies,  accompanied  by  your  faithful 
friend  Corneli;:s  Grinnell. 

"I  am  not  happy  when  you  are  away. 

"  Could  I  only  see  you  I  would  say  much  that  I 
cannot  write.  , 

"  In  love  yours  faithfully, 

"Margaret. 

"Dr.  E.  K.  K.ANB. 
"  Care  of  Americjan  Consul,  Harana." 


i; 
t 
1 


.    She  wrote  again  some  time  afterwards : 

"My  Dear  Dr.  Kane: — How  are  you?  Why 
have  you  not  written  ?  or,  if  you  were  too  ill  to  write, 
why  have  you  not  giver  Morton  orders  to  do  so? 
Had  3'ou  attended  to  this  it  would  have  made  me 
much  happier.  I  always  thought  you  were  very 
wise ;  but,  indeed,  my  powers  of  wisdom  would  have 
far  surpassed  yours. 


1*1 


LOVE-LIFE   OF  DR.   KANE. 


279 


.  Thomas ; 

an  hardly 
>ur  climate 

lays  since, 
le  Oriental 
ur  faithful 


luch  that  I 

uUy, 

iRGARET. 


you  ?  Why 
0  ill  to  write, 
rs  to  do  so? 
ve  made  me 
11  were  very 
would  have 


"  I  know  not  whether  this  will  find  you  alive  or 
not ;  only  think  how  very  cruel  it  is  in  you  to  leave 
me  to  all  manner  of  awful  imaginings !  I  read  the 
newspaper  articles,  of  course ;  but  what  reliance  can 
I  place  on  what  they  say  !  One  day  they  say  that 
you  are  rapidly  recovering,  and  perhaps  the  next 
morning  the  old  Tribune  will  say, —  -Dr.  Kane  is 
dangerously  ill,  and  it  is  feared  he  will  not  live  to 
return  to  his  home  again.'  Oh,  dear,  I  am  so  unhap- 
py !  Mr.  Grinnell  has  returned,  and  I  am  sometimes 
tempted  to  ask  Dr.  Bayard  to  take  me  to  his  house, 
and  see  if  he  could  give  any  satisfactory  news  con- 
cerning your  health.  "But  there  it  is; — I  have  been 
BO  very  unkind  to  the  poor  fellow  in  sending  so 
abruptly  for  my  letters,  that  I  would  not  dare  go 
to  him.  Did  the  Consul  hand  you  my  letters  ?  Are 
you  Dr.  Kane  or  not  ?  Really,  I  begin  to  doubt  that 
I  have  ever  known  Dr.  Kane ! 

''  I  am  very  well,  but  wretchedly  unhappy.  Katie 
sends  much  love. 

"  From  yours  truly, 

"  Margaret  Fox." 

"  P.  S. — ^Do  write  at  once,  or  get  Morton  to  write." 


280 


LOVE-LIFE   OF  DR.    KANE. 


But  the  excitement  caused  by  the  letter  preceding 
this  one  had  been  almost  too  much  for  the  enfeebled 
frame  of  the  sufferer,  and  this  last  was  not  given  to 
him.  He  was  paralysed  and  speechless  before  it 
could  reach  him.  . 

The  cruel  uncertainty  felt  by  Margaret  whether 
her  letter  would  ever  meet  the  eyes  of  him  for  whom 
it  was  written — the  uncertainty  into  whose  hands  it 
might  fall,  induced  her  to  use  the  same  signature  she 
had  formerly  used,  though  aware  she  was  now  entitled 
to  bear  the  name  of  him  she  loved.  It  had  been 
agreed  between  them  that  the  marriage  should  be 
concealed  till  May,  from  the  knowledge  of  all  but 
those  who  had  witnessed  it ;  and  Dr  Kane  had  espe- 
cially charged  her  not  to  sign  herself  Kane,  even 
inder  cover  to  his  brother. 

Mrs.  Fox  and  her  daughter  were  making  prepara- 
tions to  go  to  Havana,  according  to  Dr.  Kane's  earnest 
request  before  they  parted,  when  they  received  the 
news  of  his  death.  This  occurred  on  the  16th  Feb- 
ruary, 1857.  Margaret  read  through  the  fatal  para- 
graph in  silence,  though  deadly  pale ;  then  turned  to 
leave  the  room,  and  dropped  on  the  floor  insensible. 
No  human  thought  could  measure  her  sorrow.  An 
illness  of  many  months  followed ;  -and  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  time  she  was  shut  up  in  a  dark 
room,  utterly  inconsolable,  and  unable  to  bear  the 
light  of  day. 


LOVE-LIFE  OF   DR.    KANE. 


281 


I 


r  preceding 
e  enfeebled 
lot  given  to 
33  before  it 

• 

ret  whetber 
m  for  whom 
3se  bands  it 
lignature  sbe 
now  entitled 
It  bad  been 
;e  sbould  be 
re  of  all  but 
ne  bad  espe- 
Kane,  even 

dng  prepara- 
Lane's  earnest 

received  tbe 
he  16th  Feb- 
he  fatal  para- 
hen  turned  to 
lor  insensible. 

sorrow.  An 
d  during  the 

up  in  a  dark 
e  to  bear  the 


The  following  fragment  was  penned  by  her  more 
than  two  years  afterwards : 


(( 


TO  MY  BELOVED. 


"  Oh,  that  I  could  die  and  be  with  thee  I  How  can 
thy  place  be  filled  I  How  can  my  sorrow  be  alle- 
viated ?  Thou  art  missed  every  moment  more  and 
morel  i 

"  No  heart  can  ever  be  like  thine — no  voice  so 
worshipped — no  smile  so  loved !  Alas!  alas!  never 
shall  I  again  find  in  this  weary  world  such  love — 
such  fidelity — such  tenderness — as  I  received  from 
my  beloved!  Oh,  that  I  could  die  and  be  with 
thee! 

"Margaret. 

"  September  mh,  1859." 


A  correspondent  of  the  Evening  Post  thus  writes 
of  the  great  American  Explorer — noticing  Hicks's 
painting  of  him  sitting  in  the  cabin  of  the  Advance : 

"  We  look  upon  him  here  with  his  grasp  of  mind, 
its  inspiration,  the  enthronement  of  genius  and  vir- 
tuous disinterestedness  and  worth.     Here  he  sits  in 


282 


LOVE-LIFE  OF   DU.   KANE. 


f 


his  hall  of  science,  in  the  dim  frozen  regions  where 
the  keel  of  a  navigator  had  never  before  penetrated ; 
and  at  an  hour  when  no  human  eye  rested  upon  him, 
he  is  found  in  that  temple  of  democracy  in  which  he 
came  to  learn  to  confess  his  ignorance  before  the 
Great  Supreme,  and  to  find  that  it  is  only  dignity  of 
intellect,  the  largeness  and  fulness  of  knowledge, 
which  confers  superiority  over  man  I 

*'  Here  he  sits,  smitten,  as  it  were,  suddenly  with  a 
craving  for  more  mental  illumination,  whilst  enjoying 
the  highest  of  all  pleasures,  the  perception  of  some 
fresh  truth  which  will  give  a  new  standard  to  merit, 
and  a  new  pursuit  to  men  I  Here  he  sits,  in  these 
trackless  seas,  the  comprehensive  thinker,  the  law- 
giver and  founder  of  knowledge,  opening  a  new  vein 
of  thought,  and  creating  fresh  science  and  power. 
Steadfast  integrity,  incorruptible  courage,  and  hea- 
venly benevolence  are  written  upon  his  brow ;  but, 
with  all  his  exalted  humanity,  we  see  in  his  face  what 
Kent  loved  in  Lear — *  Authority.'  Superior  in  mo- 
rals, superior  in  intellect  and  in  knowledge,  it  only 
needed  his  natural  reticence  to  observe  all  circum- 
stances, and  to  bring  to  bear  at  the  right  time  all  the 
faculties  which  he  possessed,  and  ^vhich  gave  him 
what  mankind  concedes  to  him, — greatness  /  "    ' 

Add  to  "  Authority  " — ^Love — to  complete  the  por- 
trait. •  ,    • 


LOVE-T.IFE   OF   DR.    _.\NE. 


283 


Mrs.  Kane  felt  convinced  that  the  Doctor  had  left 
for  her  some  word  or  message — some  blessing  with 
parting  breath ;  and  she  was  intensely  anxious  to 
know  it.  As  soon  as  she  was  able  to  hold  a  pen,  she 
wrote  to  one  of  the  Doctor's  brothers,  in  her  former 
name — which  she  retained  as  a  middle  name — for  she 
wfus  careful  to  avoid  wounding  the  pride  of  the  family, 
and  felt  no  disposition  to  intrude  on  them  the  relation 
in  which  she  stood  to  them. 


[Mrs.  Kane  to  Mr.  Kane.] 

"  My  Dear  Mr.  Kane  : — I  know  the  Doctor  must 
have  left  some  message  for  me,  and  know  that  you 
will  not  refuse  to  deliver  it,  even  though  it  gives  you 
much  pain  in  recalling  the  name  of  him  whose 
memory  is  and  ever  will  be  sacred.  I  have  always 
held  a  religious  faith  in  the  deep  sincerity  of  the 
Doctor's  love,  and  his  memory  will  always  remain  a 
beautiful  green  in  my  unchanged  affections. 

"  I  can  never  realize  that  he  is  gone — gone  for  ever. 
Only  seven  months  ago  I  bade  him  farewell,  here,  in 
this  very  room,  only  an  hour  before  his  departure  for 
England,  and  little  thought  that  it  would  be  the  last, 
long  farewell. 

"  With  my  kindest  regards,  believe  me, 

*'  Sincerely  yours, 

"Margaret  Fox. 

"East  Twenty-second  St." 


284 


LOVE-LTFE   OF  Dll.   KANE. 


Ill" 


She  said  well  in  the  expression  "  religious  faith  ;  " 
her  devotion  was  indeed  a  religion  to  her.  She  lived, 
and  has  ever  since  lived,  alone  in  the  memory  of  her 
beloved.  It  has  been  "  a  love  repressing  all  other 
life  in  her  heart."  That  "life-warm  correspondence  " 
seems  to  have  drained  the  vitality  of  her  being.  No 
worldly  allurement,  no  attraction  of  society,  no  soli- 
citation of  friends,  could  or  can  draw  her  from  con- 
tinual, unceasing  thoughts  of  him.  One  room,  con- 
taining his  letters  and  various  gifts,  where  hang  his 
portrait  and  the  map  of  his  wanderings, — is  her 
favorite  resort,  and  is  kept  as  a  sanctuary.  Her 
opinions  of  persons  and  views  of  things  are  moulded 
entirely  by  her  recollections  of  his.  His  hatred  of 
spiritualism  is  her  abiding  feeling  in  regard  to  it,  and 
she  shuns  its  votaries.  Her  former  friends,  even  her 
kindred,  except  her  parents  and  the  sister  whom  the 
Doctor  liked,  are  as  aliens  and  strangers.  "  Would  dear 
Elisba  like  me  to  do  this  ?  " — is  the  test  by  which  she 
regulates  conduct  at  all  times  and  under  all  circum- 
stances. Never  was  widow's  heart  more  entirely 
buried  in  the  grave  of  the  lost  one.  What  her  love 
may  have  wanted  in  passion,  is  made  up  in  con- 
stancy ;  a  constancy  none  of  life's  scenes  can  dim  or 
enfeeble ;  a  constancy  that  will  endure  to  death. 

In  August,  1858,  she  became  a  member  of  the  Ko- 
man  Catholic  Church.  Dr.  Kane  had  often  advised 
her  to  join  this  church,  and  many  times  had  accom- 
panied her  to  vespers  at  St.  Anne's,  in  Eighth  street, 


I! 


LOVE-LIFE   OF   DR.    KANE. 


285 


New  York.  The  ceremony  of  her  baptism,  at  St. 
Peter's  Church,  in  Barclay  street,  New  York,  was 
new  in  this  country,  and  was  attended  by  a  large 
assemblage.  The  lady  was  attired  in  white,  and  was 
accompanied  by  her  sponsors,  her  father  and  mother, 
and  her  youngest  sister.  The  priest  made  the  sign 
of  the  cross  upon  the  candidate's  forehead,  ears,  eyes, 
nose  and  mouth,  breast  and  shoulders,  repeating 
appropriate  words  in  Latin.  She  was  anointed  with 
the  holy  oils,  and  introduced  into  the  church  by 
receiving  the  stole,  a  long  white  veil  reaching  to  the 
ground,  and  a  burning  light,  emblematic  of  the  faith. 
The  occasion  was  the  Feast  of  the  Assumption,  and 
the  church  and  altar  were  decorated,  the  statue  of  the 
Virgin  being  covered  with  flowers. 


One  of  the  New  York  papers,  describing  the  cere- 
mony, remarked  concerning  the  new  convert : — 

"  She  is  a  very  interesting  and  lovely  young  lady, 
and  is  very  young.  She  has  large  dark  Madonna 
eyes,  a  sweet  expressive  mouth,  a  petite  and  delicately 
moulded  form,  and  a  regal  carriage  of  the  head,  with 
an  aristocratic  air  quite  uncommon.  Miss  Fox,  it  is 
said,  was  placed  at  school  in   Philadelphia  by   the 


286- 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


lamented  Kane,  the  Arctic  voyager,  who  loved  her  as 
a  sister,  and  whose  brotherly  interest  in  the  fair  girl 
was  dearly  cherished  even  in  his  last  moments." 


I  si' 

it 


Governor  Tallmadge  wrote  to  Mrs.  Kane  as  follows, 
on  reading  the. account  of  this  baptism  :— 


"  Saratoga  Springs,  August  17th,  1868. 

"  My  Dear  Maggie  :— I  saw  in  the  Herald  of  yes- 
terday an  account  of  your  connecting  yourself  with 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  I  most  sincerely  hope 
it  will  add  to  your  comfort  and  happiness.  I  know 
how  depressed  and  disconsolate  you  have  been  since 
your  disappointment  in  a  matter  of  the  heart,  to  which 
we  all  look  forward  for  happiness  in  this  life.  But 
remember,  my  dear  young  friend,  that  our  trials  and 
disappointments  here  are  but  for  a  brief  season,  and 
that  we  shall  again  meet  those  we  have  loved,  where 
there  shall  be  no  separation  for  ever. 

"  I  am  here  for  a  time  to  get  rid  of  a  partial  return 
of  my  bronchial  difficulty.  I  have  had  it  three  times 
removed  by  a  mercurial  treatment ;  I  ^ish  to  avoid 
that  remedy  if  I  can.  I  am  improving,  and  hope  in 
due  time  to  be  entirely  relieved.  .  ,    ;  '-  ,  - 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.   KANE. 


287 


3ved  her  as 
he  fair  girl 


ents. 


» 


e  as  follows, 


It  mh,  1868. 

erald  of  yes- 
ourself  with 
icerely  hope 
33.  I  know 
e  been  since 
art,  to  which 
is  life.  But 
ur  trials  and 
■  season,  and 
loved,  where 

)artial  return 

t  three  times 

vish  to  avoid 

and  hope  in 


"  I  hope  your  health  is  improving.  I  regretted  I 
could  not  see  you  when  I  was  last  in  New  York.  I 
wished  to  visit  New  York  once  more  before  I  T(  irned 
home ;  but  my  doctor  advised  me  to  avoid  your  salt 
atmosphere.  Be  so  kind  as  to  write  me  a  line,  how- 
ever brief,  whilst  I  remain  here.  Direct '  U.  S.  Hotel, 
Saratoga  Springs.'  .        . 

"  Remember  me  most  kindly  to  your  mother  and 
Katy,  and  believe  me  always, 

"  Most  aifectfionately     ' 

"  Your  sincere  friend, 

"  N.  P.  Tallmadgb." 


Six  months  later  the  Governor  sent  her  another 
letter  of  condolence : 

'^Ltthgow,  Dutchess  County,  N.Y. 
.  '     X      "March  10th,  1869. 

"  My  Dear  Maggie  : — I  was  very  much  gratified 
in  the  receipt  of  your  very  kind  letter  of  yesterday. 
I  truly  sympathize  with  you,  my  young  friend,  i"n  all 
your  cares  and  sorrows.  I  appreciate  your  feelings 
when  contemplating  *  the  loved  and  lost,'  and  I  am 
rejoiced  that  in  your  contemplations  of  the  future  '  all 
seems  bright  and  beautiful.'    Thus  it  shall  ever  be. 


288 


LOVE-LIFE  OF  DR.  KANE. 


I 


,: 


Your  pure  and  Christian  life  will  assure  you  a  blissful 
and  bappy  future,  and  you  will  enjoy  the  companion- 
ship of  the  *  loved  one '  gone  before  you,  to  be  no 
more  separated  for  ever.  How  consoling  the  thought  I 
How  heart-cheering  the  contemplation  I  Why,  then, 
mourn  over  the  present  separation  ?  It  is  but  for  a 
brief  season.  No,  my  young  friend,  you  should  be 
happy  in  the  contemplation  of  your  future  happiness. 
Besides,  it  is  a  duty  we  all  owe,  to  be  cheerful  for  the 
sake  of  friends  around  us ;  "v^hilst,  at  the  same  time,  it 
contributes  to  our  own  happiness.  The  longer  we 
continue  here  in  works  of  love  to  God  and  our  neigh- 
bor, the  better  we  shall  be  prepared  to  enter  upon  an 
elevated  plane  hereafter,  and  to  commence  a  course  of 
everlasting  progression.  Let  us,  therefore,  dissipate 
the  shadows  here  in  anticipation  of  the  sunshine  here- 
after. I  shall  take  great  pleasure  in  talking  with  you 
on  this  subject  when  I  meet  you. 

"  I  cannot  tell  how  soon  I  can  see  you.  My  cough 
is  better ;  but  my  doctor  is  unwilling  to  have  me 
exposed  to  the  severe  March  winds,  and  I  am  some- 
what afraid  of  the  salt  air  of  New  York  in  the  present 
state  of  my  respiratory  organs. 

"  Eemember  me  kindly  to  your  mother  and  Katy, 
and  believe  me 

"  Your  sincere  and  devoted  friend, 

"  N.  P.  Tallmadge." 


THE  END. 


you  a  blissful 
le  companion- 
i^ou,  to  be  no 
y the  thought  1 
Why,  then, 
It  is  but  for  a 
i^ou  should  be 
;ure  happiness, 
heerful  for  the 
e  same  time,  it 
'he  longer  we 
and  our  neigh- 
enter  upon  an 
nee  a  course  of 
sfore,  dissipate 
sunshine  here- 
liking  "with  you 

ou.  My  cough 
ig  to  have  me 
md  I  am  some- 
j  in  the  present 

>ther  and  Katy, 


;nd, 
Dallmadge." 


